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Tag: China

  • Apple IPhone 6s, IPhone 6s Plus To Be Available At Retail Stores From Friday

    Apple IPhone 6s, IPhone 6s Plus To Be Available At Retail Stores From Friday

    Apple Inc. said Monday that its latest smartphones, the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus, will be available at the technology giant’s retail stores at 8 a.m. local time on Friday, September 25.

    The company also noted that more than 50 percent of existing devices have upgraded to iOS 9, its newest mobile operating software that was rolled out last week, marking the fastest iOS adoption ever.

    Apple said its retail stores will have the new iPhones available for walk-in customers, who should arrive at a store early. Both models will also be available on Friday from AT&T Inc. ( T ), Sprint Corp. ( S ), T-Mobile US Inc. ( TMUS ), Verizon Wireless, additional carriers and select Apple authorized resellers.

    Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing said, “Customer response to the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus has been incredibly positive, we can’t wait to get our most advanced iPhones ever into customers’ hands starting this Friday. iOS 9 is also off to an amazing start, on pace to be downloaded by more users than any other software release in Apple’s history.”

    In early September, Apple unveiled its iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus smartphones with a faster processor, new 3D Touch capabilities and an improved camera, seeking to woo customers ahead of the holiday season and to assuage investors that its flagship device still has the mojo to sustain growth.

    The phones, which look like their predecessors, are powered by A9 chip, have a new feature called 3D Touch that lets users make commands as well as avail shortcuts and menus by pressing down on the screen.

    Last Monday, Apple said it is on track to beat last year’s record for first weekend sales of iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, when sales breached the 10 million mark within just three days of its sales launch on September 19, 2014.

    The iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus will be available in gold, silver, space gray and the new rose gold metallic finishes for $0 down, with 24 monthly installment payments that start at $27 and $31 respectively, from Apple’s retail stores in the U.S., Apple.com, select carriers and Apple authorized resellers.

    Both the smartphone models will also be available from Friday in Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand, Puerto Rico, Singapore, the UK and the U.S. The iPhone will be available by reservation only in China, Hong Kong, Japan and U.S. stores in tax-free states.

    Starting this Saturday, September 26, customers will be able to visit Apple.com to reserve their iPhone for pick-up at their local Apple Store, based on availability. Apple noted that most Apple stores will also have iPhone available for walk-in customers each day.

    Every customer who buys an iPhone 6s or iPhone 6s Plus at an Apple retail store will be offered free Personal Setup to help them customize their iPhone by setting up email and show them new apps from the App Store.

    Apple-designed accessories, such as leather and silicone cases in different colors and Lightning Docks in color-matched metallic finishes, will also be available.

    While unveiling the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus earlier in September, Apple had said that the devices will come with iOS 9, which would be available as a free software update.

    iOS 9 brings more features to iPhone with a Proactive assistant that is similar to Android’s Google Now service, powerful search and improved Siri features, along with an improved security feature.

    Built-in apps on iOS 9 feature redesigned Notes app, detailed transit information in Maps, and a new News app that displays news from several sources.

    AAPL is trading at $114.33, up $0.88 or 0.78 on a volume of 4.44 million shares.

     

     

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  • China’s shopping mall operators struggle against e-commerce

    China’s shopping mall operators struggle against e-commerce

    China’s accelerating slowdown has put shopping mall operators already struggling to fight off the inroads of e-commerce under the gun. But not all is doom and gloom as a wave of consolidation may allow some to thrive.

    “The supply of mall space in China is outpacing demand, as growth in retail sales slows because of the country’s lower GDP growth, and in cities where mall space is abundant, vacancy rates have risen substantially,” Marie Lam, an associate managing director with ratings agency Moody’s, said in a report.

    A raft of figures pointed to waning demand at home. China’s retail sales for the first half of the year grew by just 10.4 per cent from a year earlier, the lowest rate since 2004, data released by the National Bureau of Statistics showed.

    Although acknowledging that the outlook will continue to be murky for China’s traditional retailers, Bank of China International analysts led by Tang Jiarui noted consolidation may sweep across some of the major players in the sector, discarding the weak players and leaving the stronger ones as the survivors. “The distress, on the other hand, may give birth to a mergers-and-acquisitions boom. We see some of the leading regional shopping mall operators, including Wuhan-based Zhongbai Holdings, the potential buying targets of industrial powerhouses eyeing expansion,” she said.

    Unfazed by a flagging economy, Chinese developers’ headlong rush to branch out and build more shopping malls show no signs of dying down.

    China made up of 44 per cent of total global shopping mall completions in 2014, data from real estate consultancy CBRE said. The amount of mall-space in the pipeline is even more massive, representing 60 per cent of the total worldwide.

    In 2014, the retail space under construction in China soared by more than 50 per cent year-on-year, compared with a 21.8 per cent rise of the global total for the same period.

    “Demand for mall space from retailers in China is not catching up with supply,” Lam said.

    Adding to the burden on those brick and mortar retailers are their e-commerce rivals that managed to post robust results even as the economy grew at its slowest pace in a quarter century. Online retail sales registered a 48.7 per cent jump in the first six months of 2015 from a year earlier, according to the China e-Business Research Centre.

    A study by Fung Business Intelligence Centre found department stores in China were the worst performers among all retail formats last year with many forced to close shop.

    “Fragile global and domestic economies …competition from speciality stores and online retailers were major reasons for stores’ weak performances,” the Fung report said.

    Many of traditional retailers have been shifting to asset-light business models or exploring the online-to-offline business mode to get by.

    But a transformation can be painful for any company with more uncertainty the rule going forward.

    “Success also depends on whether the changed mall can differentiate itself from other malls that have also undergone facelifts,” said Lam, who saw rising difficulty for some shopping mall property developers in refinancing the loans they took out to shift gears.

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  • UNIQLO Opens World’s First MAGIC FOR ALL Store in Shanghai

    UNIQLO Opens World’s First MAGIC FOR ALL Store in Shanghai

    UNIQLO is set to open its MAGIC FOR ALL store on the fifth floor of the UNIQLO Shanghai Global Flagship Store on Huai Hai Road, its largest UNIQLO store in the world, on September 27. The MAGIC FOR ALL line of LifeWear apparel is part of a global collaboration with Disney Consumer Products that aims to surprise and delight customers of all ages.

    Customers begin their MAGIC FOR ALL journey at the store’s main entrance, where a 180-centimeter-tall Mickey Mouse statue and 100 Mickey Mouse figurines await. Known as the Mickey 100 Series, the inspiration for these iconic figurines was taken from 100 exclusive new designs for Mickey Mouse, which will be on display for the first time in Shanghai. Fifteen of the designs were reproduced on colorful UTs (UNIQLO T-shirts), including five designs for children.

    Inside the MAGIC FOR ALL store, customers are treated to a series of unique and immersive experiences found only at UNIQLO in Shanghai. Tinker Bell can be seen flying across wall monitors accompanied by music, and in a world first, the store features Shout Mickey, a special area that captures joyful moments. When a customer shouts ‘Mickey’ toward the lens of a digital camera, the moment is captured and a digital image can be sent to the customer’s mobile device as a memento of the visit. The store also features a Future area, showcasing UNIQLO’s UT range of fashions, and the Colorful Fairy Tale realm for little princesses.

    Unique and innovative being central to the overall shopping experience, the store is the first in China to offer MAGIC FOR ALL options for UTme!, a custom T-shirt design service, and for MY UNIQLO, which enables customers to add special touches to items of clothing.

  • China luxury spend offshore will double

    China luxury spend offshore will double

    The Chinese already account for 27 per cent of the world’s total luxury spending – and a staggering 80 per cent of that is spent outside the Mainland.

    China luxury spending outside China will double by 202 according to a report by China Luxury Advisors, presented to last week’s Luxury Retail Summit: Holiday Focus 2015.

    “What we’re really seeing is that [the Chinese slowdown is] just really not changing the amount of travel, it’s just changing the nature of it,” said Avery Booker, partner at China Luxury Advisors in a presentation reported in detail here by Luxury Daily.

    “We’re seeing fewer long haul trips among the middle class, and more people going to places like Japan and Korea to do shopping,” he said. “The purse shopper spending will remain strong even though average spend is going to decrease, and of course that’s just a volume issue.”

    Booker said the devaluation of the Chinese currency was so far having no perceptible effect.

    Chinese shoppers spend US$229 billion a year outside the mainland – which China Luxury Advisors predicts will double by 2020, based on the theory the $8000 per year per capita GDP is “the tipping point” at which outbound tourism booms. China has just reached that level.

    The Luxury Retail Summit was organised by Luxury Daily.

    In reaching its estimates China Luxury Advisors surveyed 1000 Chinese consumers 18 years and older, with a variety of incomes.

    Their most common destination outside the mainland is still Hong Kong, mainly due to its nearness and visa-free travel.

    China Luxury Advisors urged retailers to make their stores “Chinese consumer-friendly” to make the most of the booming trend. Mandarin speaking associates, Chinese dining options and accepting Alipay, Tencent or China Union Pay can make them feel at ease.

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  • Lama Hourani opens Shanghai boutique

    Lama Hourani opens Shanghai boutique

    Jordanian jeweller Lama Hourani has opened an exclusive boutique in Shanghai.

    But it’s been positioned as so exclusive, customers cannot enter without a prior appointment.

    Lama Hourani’s exquisite silver and gold jewellery creations are creating a stir in Asia, underpinning her rising fame as a celebrity designer in Asia. Her creations are worn by royalty, the glitterazzi and even the Pope.

    The new store is on the ground floor of a historic house in Shanghai’s French Concession. Its decor is like something from a book celebrating Arabian design: gold and marble plinths, deep blue carpet, black and white images on the walls depicting minorities, gold framed mirrors.

    “I opened [the boutique] because people in China were just so curious…The handmade aspect is special, and it’s a major plus for me to have a proper presence here.”

    Hourani these days lives in Shanghai so it is no surprise she chose the vibrant, modern city for her first retail presence. But she is also a regular visitor to Hong Kong, presenting exclusive curations of her designs to customers – again by appointment only.

    “My clients are from all over the world and are usually independent, self-established, culturally curious women… China has so much of that,” she said in a recent interview.

    “If you are talking about demographics, those who are well-travelled, the crème de la crème, they all want to wear a statement piece that says something, rather than something that makes them belong somewhere. A lot of customers in China are beyond that first stage.”

    In Hong Kong, Lama Hourani’s luxury jewellery is sold through Joyce and the website Plukka.com – as well as her own website.

    Having established a solid reputation in jewellery, Hourani says her next focus is to expand the brand into other categories: homewares is an obvious first extension.

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  • Bossini strong in retail storm

    Bossini strong in retail storm

    Apparel retailer Bossini has weathered Hong Kong’s retail downturn by achieving strong growth offshore.

    The Hong Kong based company has revealed its annual results in the year to June 30, reporting a mere one per cent decline in sales to HK$2.523 billion, and a three per cent decline in gross profit to HK$1.264 billion with gross margin down one per cent to 50 per cent. profit attributable to shareholders fell nine per cent.

    “During the fiscal year 2014/15, despite facing challenging retail conditions in Hong Kong and Macau, its segmental business, which includes the export franchising operations, registered record-high sales with flat same-store sales growth for the directly managed stores,” the company said.

    “The operations in mainland China, Taiwan and Singapore all experienced improvements in segment results, resulting from the continuously improving shop productivity and stringent cost control measures. Mainland China segment achieved six per cent same-store sales growth and also recorded nine consecutive quarters of positive same-store gross profit growth. Taiwan segment saw a same-store sales growth of seven per cent, representing seven consecutive quarters of positive same-store sales growth.”

    Bossini ended the year with a presence in 35 countries and regions and a store count of 938 (down 24). Of those, 257 were directly managed stores and 681 were franchised.

    One factor in the group’s improved operational efficiency was a small reduction in inventory turnover timetable from 84 days to 83.

    Looking forward, CEO Edmund Mak said the group will benefit from lower production cost if US dollar remains strong versus Renminbi.

    “Besides, it is estimated that rents will fall in certain areas in Hong Kong as retailers are generally suffering from sales downturn, which could help partially offset the group’s ongoing difficulties. The group will be proactive in taking stringent measures to control costs, including rental costs, and continue to improve shop productivity. The group aims to remain flexible and responsive to changing market conditions.”

    Mak said Bossini sees grounds for “considerable optimism” in its overseas operations.

    “Therefore, we will focus more on expanding operations outside Hong Kong and Macau, in order to achieve a more balanced portfolio. Furthermore, we will continue to expand kids’ line, particularly in Mainland China, while launch co-branded and licensing programmes of clothing and accessories via partnerships that reinforce the core brand value ‘be happy’, striving to build “bossini”’s reputation as a vibrant, valued and competitive go-to brand.”

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  • China online shopping sales soar

    China online shopping sales grew a staggering 48.7 per cent during the first six months of this year, according to data from the China e-Business Research Center (CECRC).

    Online retail sales hit 1.6 trillion yuan (US$250 billion) and accounted for 11.4 per cent of total retail sales in China in the period.

    The number of online shoppers rose 19.1 per cent to 417 million, said the Hangzhou-based eCommerce trend tracker.

    Cross-border eCommerce has become a new driver of retail sales as online retailers connect domestic consumers with an increasing number of overseas brands, according to CECRC analyst Mo Daiqing

    Alibaba’s online marketplace Tmall continues to dominate China’s online business-to-consumer market, with 57.7 per cent of the market. Its rival JD.com comes in second, at 25.1 per cent, followed by a distant third by Suning.com, at 3.4 per cent.

    CECRC also said that more transactions are being made on mobile Internet as online retailers move to encourage consumers to shop with their mobile apps on smartphones and tablets.

    Robust online sales also boosted the revenue of China’s courier services by 33.2 per cent during the same period, to 120 billion yuan. CECRC estimates revenue will top 290 billion yuan for the whole year.

    China’s rural areas, Mo said, have emerged as the next source of growth for retail sales and online retailers are seeking deeper integration with offline retailers, reported Chinese press agency Xinhua.

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  • Alibaba promises faster deliveries to US

    Alibaba promises faster deliveries to US

    Cainiao, Alibaba Group’s logistics affiliate, has agreed to work with the US Postal Service to speed delivery of merchandise ordered by US consumers on Alibaba’s international online shopping platforms.

    Under a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), Cainiao and the US’s national mail carrier agreed to collaborate on the development of enhanced shipping solutions for cross-border eCommerce. In addition to helping provide more efficient shipping channels into the US for Chinese merchants and manufacturers selling on Alibaba’s AliExpress global-shopping website, the USPS will also work with Cainiao to expand its worldwide shipping capabilities, especially in South America, according to a press release.

    The global B2C cross-border eCommerce market is expected to grow from $230 billion in 2014 to $1 trillion in 2020, according to a report from global consulting firm Accenture and AliResearch, Alibaba Group’s research arm. To reduce barriers to shipping small parcels quickly on a global scale, Alibaba and related companies have been working with several national mail carriers including Singapore Post and Spanish Post.

    Cainiao VP Wan Lin cited the agreement with the USPS as “a key part of Alibaba’s globalisation strategy and our vision to enable consumers around the world to enjoy the convenience and benefits of e-commerce”.

    With more than 600,000 employees, the USPS is the leading postal and shipping service provider in the US, the world’s biggest consumer market.

    Cainiao and the USPS said by working together they are aiming to make it easier and more efficient for Chinese companies to sell and deliver goods directly to the homes of US consumers by improving the way goods purchased from China are processed and handled during international shipping.

    “As cross-border eCommerce grows rapidly, it is critical that we evolve shipping services to the next level, with shorter delivery times and easier methods to track a shipment,” said Wan in a statement.

    “The collaboration between Cainiao and USPS will enable us to create new solutions and ultimately improve the overall customer experience.”

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  • Lawson to accept UnionPay

    Lawson to accept UnionPay

    Japanese retailer Lawson has installed 1000 ATMs in a new network to help Chinese tourists access their cash via UnionPay cards.

    And from September 24, customers will be able to pay for purchases using UnionPay credit cards at all Lawson stores in Japan – that’s 12,195 stores, trading under the Lawson, Natural Lawson and Lawson Store 100 banners.

    From September 28, customers can also withdraw Japanese yen by UnionPay credit or debit card on the newly introduced ATM network which will eventually be expanded to more than 2000.

    During the Chinese National Day holidays, a large number of Chinese tourists are expected to visit Japan. During this holiday season, Lawson will launch a coupon campaign for customers who use the UnionPay credit card for settlement. Customers who have purchased over 2000 JPY worth of goods using a UnionPay credit card can get a 200 JPY coupon ticket which can be used for their next purchase.

    The campaign runs through the month of October and the coupons can be used until November 7.

    At Lawson stores in Japan, the average shopping amount per payment is 600 JPY. Spending on credit cards is more than twice as much, at around 1300 JPY. Furthermore, in some pre-launched stores where payment by UnionPay card is already available, the average shopping amount made by UnionPay card jumps to about 3000 to 4000 JPY.

    Foreign visitors going to Lawson stores buy not only rice balls and drinks, but also confectionery and daily goods as souvenirs. This campaign will be able to meet a wide range of needs from foreign visitors to Lawson stores.

  • Korea Fashion Week extends Alibaba’s trade cooperation

    Korea Fashion Week extends Alibaba’s trade cooperation

    Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group launched its Korea Fashion Week with its Taobao, Juhuasuan and Tmall online platforms in Seoul.

    Alibaba pledged to strengthen its exploration of overseas markets and to ink agreements with overseas brands to jointly explore the market, the report said.

    Imported Korean products have achieved annual sales of more than 10 billion yuan (US$1.6 billion) on Alibaba’s online retail platforms, according to statistics released by the company. Best-selling imports include beauty products, women’s clothing, daily life goods and baby products, accounting for 60% of the total market for imported Korean goods, according to statistics.

    The two nations have repeatedly announced moves to boost bilateral trade. In March, the two signed a free trade agreement. In addition, South Korea became one of the top destinations for Chinese tourists traveling abroad, the report said.

    In mid-May, Alibaba chair Jack Ma visited Seoul for the opening ceremony of the group’s Korean shop, indicating more Korean brands and products can reach Chinese consumers through the Alibaba platform.

    Samsung C&T, South Korea’s largest conglomerate with interests in construction, electronics, chemicals, finance and numerous other fields, has already moved three of its apparel brands — Beanpole, Rapido and Mvio — into the Chinese market through Tmall. It plans to cultivate China as its second domestic market, Samsung said.

    Samsung has annual revenue of US$30 billion.

    South Korea’s Eland Group began cooperating with Juhuasuan and Tmall in 2013, and reached sales of over 300 million yuan (US$47 million) last year. The group is expected to double sales to more than 600 million yuan (US$94 million) this year.

    The popularity of Korean TV dramas in China has sustained demand for Korean clothing, with 80% of the 4.32 million Chinese tourists to South Korea in 2013 shopping for clothes, shoes and bags.

    More than 200 Korean fashion brands have joined the Alibaba fashion week in Seoul, with most of them aiming to enter the Chinese market via the Alibaba retail platform. Zhang Jianfeng, president of Alibaba’s retail group, said he hopes to introduce Korean brands to Chinese consumers through their cooperation.

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  • Apple to launch online payment in China

    Apple to launch online payment in China

    Apple will launch an online payment service in China, as the tech giant seeks to expand in its largest market outside of the US despite fierce competition from local rivals.

    An Apple Company offering online payment has launched in the Shanghai Free Trade Zone (FTZ), an area set up as a testbed for financial reforms, China News Service reported late Thursday.

    Apple didn’t give a date for the launch, but the company told AFP that CEO Tim Cook hopes to set-up Apple Pay in China “as quickly as possible”.

    Cook previously said that he expects China one day to surpass the United States to become Apple’s largest market.

    But China’s e-commerce giant Alibaba dominates the country’s online payment sector, with the Paypal-like Alipay taking around 80 percent of the market.

    Internet firm Tencent is also catching up with a similar service provided via its popular messaging application WeChat.

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  • China August Retail Sales: E-Commerce Remains Robust

    China August Retail Sales: E-Commerce Remains Robust

    China reported August retail sales that grew 10.8%, which beat the consensus 10.6%. Most encouraging was that online retail sales remain robust, underscoring my bullish view on Alibaba. As for offline retail, jewelry grew off a lower base so we view this of a lower quality while it appears that offline electronic retailers are taking share from online retailers, which is a negative to JD.com. We see China retail numbers to be a good read-through to companies such as BABA and JD as well as North American companies with exposure to China such as Tiffany. We reiterate my bullish view on BABA and Nike and our cautious view on JD and TIF.

    Online retail numbers remain robust for the first eight months of the year, and this is a positive indicator to Alibaba. For the first eight months, online retail sales grew 36% and accounted for 9.8% of total retail sales vs. 8% a year ago. Worth reminding investors is that China leads the world in e-commerce penetration and we expect penetration to continue to grow, driven by mobile device penetration in second and third-tier cities as well as the lack of proper retail infrastructure in those cities. We can easily envision China’s online retail penetration to reach 20% in the next 10 years driven by those two factors as well as higher mobile consumption driven by online-to-offline services that are heavily invested in by BABA, Baidu and Tencent. Looking at the individual segments, online sales of services was up a whopping 41%, as were discretionary items such as food. Apparel grew 27% and other discretionary items grew 39%. All these figures imply that August online sales alone grew 27% y/y, still solid given the near-term weakness of the Chinese economy.

    As for offline retail, jewelry grew 17% y/y vs 14% in July but it was largely due to a lower base from last year. As such, we would not be quick to jump into TIF stock until we see material improvement from the demand side. Interestingly, home appliances and electronics accelerated in the month, up 14% vs. 8% in the prior month. This could potentially be a negative to JD.com given this could imply that BABA and Suning JV may be taking share from JD in the online segment.

    In conclusion, we remain bullish on BABA while cautious on JD and TIF.

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  • Diesel targets China in copy clampdown

    Diesel targets China in copy clampdown

    Italian lifestyle brand Diesel says it is initiating legal action against an average of three Chinese companies every week in its war against copycats selling copies of its apparel.

    “Hundreds of legal actions are in place against usurpatory brands, especially in China,” the company said in a statement outlining the enormous scale of the counterfeit goods trade and its astonishing campaign to fight back.

    Last year, Diesel says it started a legal action by the US Federal Court in New York, against 83 sites, which were illegally selling counterfeited products by using the cybersquatting technique – registering domain names with “Diesel” in the address.
    So far Diesel closed 3346 sites, sent 4000 ‘cease and desist’ letters, and de-listed 19,000 sites from Google. Just 131 of those sites were in Asian countries.

    “It has been calculated that in this way the company has avoided about 700,000 visits to illegal marketplaces; 9200 bids [from prospective buyers] have been removed completely,” the company said.

    Fake Diesel jeans seized in a raid.

    In Asia, over the past year Diesel obtained to remove 6786 listings on marketplaces, for a total of 1.7 million items.

    Diesel has worked with Customs agencies to seize more than 60,000 items coming from China in 2013, and another 75,000 last year, and more than 80,000 items in the European Community.

    In China, 1300 items have just been confiscated in a factory producing counterfeited t-shirts, and in another factory the police seized 910 pairs of shoes with Diesel logo, along with a quantity of unfinished products worth US$155,000.

    Last month, Diesel successfully closed the case of the ‘Diesel Cluthing’ line, which was signalled by Diesel business partners who found infringing products circulating in the Colombian market. After thorough investigation, the Chinese authorities confiscated 520 jeans infringing the Diesel trademark: the company, who registered this logo, is now under an opposition process.

    On top of these activities, Diesel says it has established a system to register its iconic products and therefore ensure that any potential copy is identified and sequestrated (in the last six months only, four cases have been closed successfully). The latest triumph took place earlier this year, when Diesel finally won back the property of its brand in Indonesia – a legal battle which has lasted 23 years.

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  • Fortress Hong Kong flagship opens

    Fortress Hong Kong flagship opens

    Electronics chain Fortress has opened a 10,000 sqft flagship at Times Square.

    The AS Watson Group subsidiary, sells mobile phones and consumer electronics across Hong Kong and Macau. Its new Times Square store is spread over two floors – eight and nine – and split into themed areas.

    Fortress Times Square Hong Kong2

    A dedicated home theatre and TV zone is dominant and there is an area dedicated to demonstrating 3D printing technologies.

    There is also a dedicated Apple space.

    Fortress Times Square Hong Kong1

    Another unique feature of this Fortress Hong Kong store is a cafe serving fresh coffee and offering free WiFi.

    The store was opened by Hong Kong actor and singer Andy Hui.

    It’s been likened to “a digital theme park”.

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  • China ‘no catastrophe’ says Bulgari CEO

    China ‘no catastrophe’ says Bulgari CEO

    Slowing luxury sales growth in China is “not a catastrophe, it’s a correction” says Bulgari CEO Jean-Christophe Babin.

    In an interview with international business news organisation Bloomberg, during the World Retail Congress in Rome, Babin warns of overstating China’s current slowdown

    A decline in the luxury sector began last year when the Chinese central government announced a clampdown on graft and gift giving and was later exacerbated by a sharp devaluation of the Chinese currency which triggered a slump in share prices.

    But in the interview – watch it here online – Babin points out that the share price declines have only brought world markets back “to what we all considered a good level last year”.

    He said China’s economy is still growing at about 6.8 per cent which produced enough customers to buy Bulgari’s luxury jewellery.

    While not disclosing figures, Babin said Bulgari’s July and August figures were “exactly in line with the first semester”despite the currency and stock market realignments.

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