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Tag: China

  • RELX China flagship set to open in Shanghai

    RELX China flagship set to open in Shanghai

    E-cigarette company RELX Technology has opened its first RELX China flagship and says it aims to have 10,000 stores globally within three years.

    Located in Shanghai’s CBD, the RELX China flagship occupies a 140sqm area, creating a space to educate existing adult smokers and vapers on RELX vapor products.

    “Consumers nowadays prefer immersive shopping experiences, and we want to make this flagship a place where we can not only better communicate with them about our product and values but also better understand their needs,” said Wang Tao, head of RELX’s new retail business.

    According to Wang, RELX will launch stores in various cities, such as Beijing’s 798 art hub and Shenzhen’s Hai Gang Cheng, to provide what he describes as “avant-garde experiences” to consumers.

    The RELX flagship features four zones including a brand experience area, a consumer education area, an interactive zone, and a device-engraving service. The store uses a facial-recognition technology called Project Sunflower to identify minors attempting to enter the store. Customers also have to undergo another layer of verification to ensure their ID matches before making a purchase.

    RELX says it plans to invest RMB 500 million in establishing 10,000 stores globally over the next three years.

    “RELX is investing heavily in breakthrough technologies to enhance franchisees’ profit margins and increase consumer loyalty during the course of its brick-and-mortar expansion,” said Jiang Long, co-founder and head of sales at RELX. “As always, our focus will remain on preventing minors from using e-cigarette products and leading the path of innovation for the entire industry by developing advanced retail technology.

    Launching its first retail store last January, RELX China operates more than 1400 outlets across 300 cities.

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  • Ford’s Vehicle Sales In China Tumble For Third Consecutive Year

    Ford’s Vehicle Sales In China Tumble For Third Consecutive Year

    Ford Motor China vehicle sales fell for a third consecutive year, by 26.1%, as it battles a prolonged overall sales decline in its second-biggest market that has hit demand for its mass-market Ford brand and sports utility vehicles. The U.S. automaker delivered 146,473 vehicles in China in the fourth quarter, down 14.7% year-on-year, Ford said in a statement. In total, it sold 567,854 vehicles over 2019. Ford has been trying to revive sales in China after its business began slumping in late 2017. Sales sank 37% in 2018, after a 6% decline in 2017.

    Anning Chen, president, and chief executive of Ford Greater China, said that while 2019 was a “challenging” year for the automaker, it saw its market share in the high-to-premium segment stabilize and its sales decline in the value segment start to narrow in the second half of the year.

    “The pressure from the external environment and downward trend of the industry volume will continue in 2020, and we will put more efforts into strengthening our product lineup with more customer-centric products and customer experiences to mitigate the external pressure and improve dealers’ profitability.”

    The automaker plans to launch more than 30 new models in China over the next three years of which over a third will be electric vehicles. It has also said it would localize management teams by hiring more Chinese staff and aimed to improve relationships with joint venture partners.

    New models it launched in the fourth quarter include a new Ford Escape version – for which the automaker said orders received so far have been much higher than expected – and the Lincoln Corsair, the first localized Lincoln model in China.

    In China, Ford makes cars through a joint venture with Chongqing Changan Automobile Co Ltd and Jiangling Motors Corp Ltd (JMC). It has also said it would partner Zotye Automobile Co Ltd to sell lower-priced cars.

    Its larger U.S. rival General Motors Co last week said its sales in China fell 15% from a year earlier to 3.09 million vehicles in 2019, its second year of decline.

    China’s auto market is set to contract by 2% in 2020 for the third year of decline, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) forecast, due to a weaker economy and trade dispute with the United States.

    Over 28 million vehicles were sold in 2018, down 3% from the prior year, while 2019 sales are likely to have declined 8% from the prior year, CAAM said.

  • Luckin Coffee ways into the vending-machines landscape

    Luckin Coffee ways into the vending-machines landscape

    China’s largest coffee chain Luckin Coffee is moving into the vending machines market.

    “It allows us to get closer to consumers and we are not restricted by the license approvals,” said Luckin founder and CEO Qian Zhiya of the new strategy. Luckin’s machines will serve freshly brewed drinks as well as food.

    The firm also launched a share placement and a convertible bond worth a combined US$821 million last week, according to a report.

    Proceeds will be used to open more stores and to invest further in sales and marketing.

    Luckin recently overtook Starbucks in terms of the number of outlets within the territory, operating more than 4500 stores. The firm focuses primarily on the coffee delivery and pickup business, and so stores are typically smaller in size than Starbucks locations and some are without seating.

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  • Bank of China Approved for Saudi Branch Launch

    Bank of China Approved for Saudi Branch Launch

    Bank of China has been approved by Saudi Arabian authorities to open a branch in the kingdom, in yet another move towards further internationalization.

    Saudi Arabia’s cabinet approved the Chinese lender’s license, according to a report citing a tweet from the state news agency SPA.

    Bank of China joins a wave of Chinese firms seeking to expand in Saudi Arabia, its close strategic ally and top oil supplier. Saudi Arabia is undergoing major reforms to diversify the economy away from energy in a grand strategy called «Saudi Vision 2030». Four years ago, rival lender, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, launched its first branch in Riyadh.

    Capitalizing on Saudi Arabian opportunities aside, the branch launch marks another step towards for China towards further internationalization through its financial entities. In December last year, Bank of China launched its first branch in Romania through the capital of Bucharest.

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  • H&M unveils Chinese New Year collection

    H&M unveils Chinese New Year collection

    A new H&M Chinese New Year collection has been launched, celebrating the Year of the Rat.

    The H&M Chinese New Year collection features more than 100 items including ladieswear, menswear and kidswear and special items featuring cartoon characters.

    Besides classic dresses, sweaters and wardrobe basics like denim and khaki items, the ladieswear range offer tops and accessories featuring Tom and Jerry characters and Minnie Mouse from Disney. A wide range of red and gold accessories is also included to finish off the outfit for Chinese New Year.

    Male customers can pick from quirky tees and printed hoodies for the new year festivities. In line with the athleisure trend, there is also a wide range of tracksuits and sporty accessories like bucket hats, beanies and belt bags for the fashionable go-getter. Mickey Mouse is featured in the collection together with Tom & Jerry, Mighty Mouse as well as The Itchy and Scratchy Show.

    The H&M Chinese New Year collection also features kid’s apparel and colorful prints featuring the auspicious animal of the year. There are also matching dresses from the Mini-Me collection for mums and daughters who love ‘twinning’.

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  • 6ixty8ight opens first store in Mongolia as China expansion ramps up

    6ixty8ight opens first store in Mongolia as China expansion ramps up

    Hong Kong lingerie brand 6ixty8ight has launched its first outlet in Mongolia and says it aims to open 16 more outlets in China this month.

    Located in Hohhot, the Mongolia 6ixty8eight store offers the latest trends in lingerie, homewear, loungewear, casualwear and accessories.

    The lingerie label has been growing significantly since its first China store opened in Beijing, with 16 new stores opening there this month.

    Last month, 6ixty8igtht opened its flagship stores on Lazada serving Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines. The brand is already making another new move to launch on another online platform, Shopee, this month.

    Founded in 2002, 6ixty8ight is one of Southeast Asia’s fastest-growing fashion brands, with more than 200 stores now trading across Greater China, South Korea, Singapore and Malaysia.

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  • Luckin Coffee stronger than Starbucks in China

    Luckin Coffee stronger than Starbucks in China

    Luckin Coffee has now become the largest coffee chain in China, surpassing Starbucks in terms of number of locations.

    The firm has launched 4500 outlets within the Chinese territory, around 200 more than its Seattle-headquartered competitor. The brand soared past Starbucks late last year and has rapidly multiplied its footprint in the market backed by strong investment from supporters such as BlackRock.

    The firm focuses primarily on the coffee delivery and pickup business, and so stores are typically smaller in size than Starbucks locations and some are without seating. Starbucks itself has responded to the challenge by entering into a partnership with Alibaba to offer a more robust delivery solution.

    Many of Luckin’s new locations are in areas not currently served by Starbucks.

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  • Chinese Firms Vie for Singapore Digital Bank Licenses

    Chinese Firms Vie for Singapore Digital Bank Licenses

    Several Chinese fintech firms have submitted a bid to the Monetary Authority of Singapore to operate a digital bank in the city-state.

    By the application deadline on Tuesday, Chinese firms that submitted bids for a digital banking license in Singapore included Bytedance, which operates viral video sharing application TikTok, Yillion Group and Hande Group, which applied as part of a consortium with Singapore wealth management fintech platform iFast Corporation, and the country’s largest online financial platform Ant Financial.

    All three are applying for a digital wholesale bank license, according to several media reports this week. There are up to five licenses on offer – two for full digital banks, and three for digital wholesale banks, in which foreign firms can hold majority stakes and the capital commitment is S$100 million.

    We look forward to contributing to the development of the digital banking landscape in Singapore, Ant said, citing an emailed statement.

    For iFast, a license in Singapore would allow it to «bring solutions to the small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) market that has been underserved by bank,» CEO and chairman Lim Chung Chun told «The Business Times» reported on Thursday.

    Other firms that have entered the fray include a consortium led by Singapore gaming firm Razer and Grab, which submitted a joint bid with Singtel.

  • Chinese Firms Vie for Singapore Digital Bank Licenses

    Chinese Firms Vie for Singapore Digital Bank Licenses

    Several Chinese fintech firms have submitted a bid to the Monetary Authority of Singapore to operate a digital bank in the city-state.

    By the application deadline on Tuesday, Chinese firms that submitted bids for a digital banking license in Singapore included Bytedance, which operates viral video sharing application TikTok, Yillion Group and Hande Group, which applied as part of a consortium with Singapore wealth management fintech platform iFast Corporation, and the country’s largest online financial platform Ant Financial.

    All three are applying for a digital wholesale bank license, according to several media reports this week. There are up to five licenses on offer – two for full digital banks, and three for digital wholesale banks, in which foreign firms can hold majority stakes and the capital commitment is S$100 million

    We look forward to contributing to the development of the digital banking landscape in Singapore, Ant said, citing an emailed statement.

    For iFast, a license in Singapore would allow it to bring solutions to the small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) market that has been underserved by bank, CEO and chairman Lim Chung Chun said.

    Other firms that have entered the fray include a consortium led by Singapore gaming firm Razer and Grab, which submitted a joint bid with Singtel.

  • Tesla Says Will Start Delivering China-Made Model 3s To Public On January 7

    Tesla Says Will Start Delivering China-Made Model 3s To Public On January 7

    Tesla will deliver its first Chinese made Model 3 sedans to the public on Jan. 7 at an event at its Shanghai plant, a representative for the firm told Reuters on Thursday. The Shanghai plant is part of the Silicon Valley automaker’s plans to bolster its presence in the world’s biggest auto market and minimise the impact of the U.S.-China trade war. Fifteen Tesla employees who had purchased a car were the first to receive their Model 3s on Monday after the first China-made vehicles rolled off the plant’s production line in October.

    The deliveries come a year after construction of Tesla’s only plant outside the United States began. Production started in October with a target of 250,000 vehicles a year once the Model Y is added to the line up. The Model 3 is priced at 355,800 yuan ($50,000) before subsidies. Tesla said previously that it wanted to start deliveries before the Chinese new year beginning on Jan. 25.

    Tesla’s China General Manager Wang Hao said the company plans to ramp up Model 3 deliveries in January.

    Tesla executives also told reporters the plant had achieved a production target of 1,000 units a week, or around 280 cars a day, and that sales for the China-made sedan had so far been “very good”.

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  • JD wants its My Pet Profile to transform animal lives across China

    JD wants its My Pet Profile to transform animal lives across China

    Customers of JD can now store detailed profiles of their pets online and receive updates of suitable products, services and care instructions through JD’s My Pet Profile Initiative function.

    With My Pet Profile, brands can improve their product specifications and target marketing campaigns to specific pet demographics. Nestle Purina’s Pro Plan brand has piloted the initiative recently, and saw its click rate quickly double among customers who received targeted recommendations.

    “By providing insights not only on pet owners, but for the first time also on their pets, JD has taken us to the next step,” said Zoe Zuo, marketing director at Nestle Purina. “The My Pet Profile Initiative represents an expanding database of growing importance for us because it helps us improve our products and strategies. We will work on these insights to recommend products to customers with more precision, helping ensure our customers have longer and happier relationships with their beloved pets.”

    A report released by JD and Nielsen shows that Chinese pet owners are now more engaged with their animals and more interested in improving their pets’ health and longevity. In 2018 the year-on-year sales increase of imported pet brands was 118 per cent higher than that of domestic brands. Services related to pets are also on the rise, such as grooming and medical care.

    Tianyang Fan, head of pet products at JD Fast Moving Consumer Goods, said the initiative provides a better shopping experience for pet owners, while also serving brand partners who are looking to improve their products and marketing solutions based on consumer insights.

    JD also hopes to become Chinese pet owners’ one-stop destination for pet-related information and the types of high-quality pet products. Currently applicable only to cats and dogs, the initiative could be expanded to offer tailored information about other pets, such as aquatic creatures.

  • Harrods opening store in Shanghai

    Harrods opening store in Shanghai

    British department store Harrods will open a location in Shanghai.

    According to Retail Gazette, the store will be the brand’s first standalone site outside the UK and will target China’s growing middle class.

    “If you look at all of the reports, they say, quite categorically that all of the growth in the next five years is going to come from Southeast Asia. And is going to come from millennials,” said Harrods MD Michael Ward. “So we’ve got to go after that. It’s very important that you follow the money. We see continued growth of China, but we see a need to be a more permanent resident in China.”

    Harrods has been making investments in China for a decade, and will launch in the Pudong area in response to strong consumer demand. The store will serve private shoppers targeting the high-end market.

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  • JD’s 7Fresh launches two new concepts in Beijing

    JD’s 7Fresh launches two new concepts in Beijing

    E-commerce giant JD.com has opened a 24/7 store chain, 7Fresh Life, in Beijing.

    At the same time, the firm has launched its first Seven Fun lifestyle space in Beijing, intended to serve as a “third place” for working professionals.

    The 7Fresh Life food chain supermarket, which launched last month, offers mealtime solutions within a 300–400sqm area. The venue is located in the Huilongguan residential area in northern Beijing, one of the largest residential neighbourhoods in Asia.

    Targeting especially young mothers and kitchen owners, the chain is conceived of as a restaurant, fresh food store and convenience store combination, providing more than 3000 selected fresh items of produce, daily groceries and also ready-to-cook and ready-to-eat food, equipped with an in-store dining area.

    It also provides a location-based online channel through its app for consumers to buy from the community shop anytime and have items delivered to their doorstep within as fast as 30 minutes from the time of order. The home-delivery service covers a 1.5km radius, including 38 surrounding communities and three office areas, reaching 50,000 families and 1000 office professionals.

    As a brand under 7Fresh, Seven Fun consumers can order anything in the store from the same 7Fresh app to be delivered to their doorstep.

    In addition to the items offered in-store, a large number of products from JD’s e-commerce platform can be ordered through the chain’s online channel, such as seasonal, large-size, beauty and baby and maternal products. It also provides services such as power bank rental, 24-hour parcel pick-up lockers, bill payment, top up, courier and a dry cleaning service, among others.

    “With JD’s deep understanding of consumers and our strong supply chain providing global and local fresh produce and mealtime solutions, 7Fresh has become a trusted source for consumers buying fresh food offline,” said JD’s head of 7Fresh Jonathan Wang. “7Fresh Life will better serve the diverse and unique needs of Chinese families, providing for each person at any time for any need, online or offline.”

    Dine, drink and socialise

    The firm’s Seven Fun concept is a dining, drinking and social venue offering breakfast from sunrise and late night drinks as well as lunch, afternoon tea, snacks and daily groceries.

    Located in Galaxy Soho on the second ring road of Beijing, the roughly 1000sqm store is designed specifically to cater to working professionals aged between 26 and 45 in first-tier cities. It was designed to meet the trend of global consumers shifting from going to the store to buy products to going to the store to experience products and buy services.

    The inaugural Seven Fun outlet offers more than 3500 products such as fresh food, baked goods, fresh flowers, and groceries. It features 12 selected eateries targeting the 200,000 working professionals within a 1km radius of the store.

    “As a lifestyle retailer, Seven Fun is innovating the retail landscape in China,” said Wang. “Through this concept, JD provides an unprecedented “Solomome” (social, local, mobile and personalised) offline experience that serves as a pioneering model for future brick-and-mortar stores.”

    Future expansion of Seven Fun is expected to focus on tier-one cities, targeting working professionals with an annual income of more than RMB100,000 (US$14,360).

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  • First franchised KFCs open in Chinese gas stations

    First franchised KFCs open in Chinese gas stations

    Yum has announced the opening of its first franchised restaurants in Chinese gas stations, in collaboration with China Petrochemical Corporation (Sinopec) and China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC).

    The first franchised KFC restaurant has been launched in a CNPC gas station in Yunnan Province while the first one in a Sinopec gas station is set to open its doors, Liaoning Province, next week.

    “The first franchised gas station restaurants represent an important milestone in our long-term strategic partnership with both companies,” said Joey Wat, CEO of Yum China. “Together with Sinopec and CNPC, we are committed to building a successful business model and creating innovation-driven growth together.”

    The partnership with Sinopec and CNPC will enable Yum China to expand its retail network into a previously underserved segment of the market as both companies collectively operate more than 50,000 Chinese gas stations.

    With the partnership, Yum China aims to open more than 100 stores in the next three years and create more opportunities to collaborate in other fields.

  • China Should Boost AI Regulation in Finance

    China Should Boost AI Regulation in Finance

    A regulatory framework specifically designed for artificial intelligence in China’s financial sector and better tech for supervision should be introduced, according to policy advisors from a leading think tank.

    We should not deify artificial intelligence as it could go wrong just like any other technology,» said Xiao Gang, senior researcher at China Finance 40 Forum and the former chief of the China Securities and Regulatory Commission.

    The point is how we make sure it is safe for use and include it with proper supervision.

    A report from the forum based in eastern China’s Qingdao city underlined that technology to regulate «intelligence finance» largely lagged development. Existing technology deployed in the sector to improve sales and investment returns, the report added, ranged from facial recognition to big data analysis.

    Onlookers not only underline the potential tech risks which China could face in the future but also recent track record, most notably a failed attempt to create a sustainable peer-to-peer financial ecosystem. What was originally intended to be a source of financing for entities that lacked access to major state-owned lenders resulted in regulators being forced to shut down large parts of the industry with recent data showing that just 427 P2P platforms remained – a 59 percent drop compared to 2018-end.

    Evaluation of emerging technologies and industry-wide contingency plans should be fully considered, while authorities should draft laws and regulations on privacy protection and data security, the report added.

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