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Tag: Courts

  • Unilever Courts McCormick for Potential Mega-Deal: A $33 Billion Foods Business at Stake

    Unilever Courts McCormick for Potential Mega-Deal: A $33 Billion Foods Business at Stake

    Unilever, a multinational consumer goods corporation, has confirmed that it is in discussions with McCormick & Company regarding the potential sale of its food division. The company has made this admission in response to ongoing rumours about the possible transaction, but has also made it clear that the completion of the deal is not guaranteed.

    Value of Unilever’s Food Business

    Unilever’s food business, which comprises around a quarter of the corporation’s annual revenue, is considered to be a very appealing acquisition. Brands like Hellmann’s, Colman’s, and Knorr form its diverse portfolio. If McCormick & Company were to acquire this business, it would represent the most costly purchase in their 137-year history.

    The food business is seen as a robust entity with a strong financial profile. The company’s management is confident about the future prospects of the food division, citing the presence of several market-leading brands in burgeoning categories as significant strengths.

    Unilever’s Future Growth Priorities

    In the company’s 2025 financial results report, Fernando Fernandez, the newly appointed CEO of Unilever, outlined the corporation’s objectives. Under his leadership, Unilever plans to build a future-oriented brand portfolio that focuses on beauty, wellbeing, and personal care. Premium segments and digital commerce will be the areas of priority. The company aims to root its growth in the US and India markets.

    Bloomberg has estimated the value of Unilever’s Food Business to be around $33 billion, which is more than double the market cap of McCormick, which stands at $14.5 billion.

    Questions & Answers

    What is the estimated value of Unilever’s Food Business?
    The estimated value of Unilever’s Food Business is $33 billion, according to Bloomberg.

    What brands are part of Unilever’s Food Business?
    Unilever’s Food Business includes brands such as Hellmann’s, Colman’s, and Knorr.

    What are Unilever’s growth priorities as set out by its new CEO?
    Unilever’s new CEO, Fernando Fernandez, has identified the development of a future-oriented brand portfolio focusing on beauty, wellbeing, and personal care as a major priority. The company also plans to prioritize premium segments, digital commerce, and growth in the US and India markets.

  • Singapore’s Electronics Giants, Courts and Prism+, Face Legal Action for Misleading Consumers: Unfair Trading Exposed

    Singapore’s Electronics Giants, Courts and Prism+, Face Legal Action for Misleading Consumers: Unfair Trading Exposed

    Two Singapore-based electronics and home appliance retailers, Courts and Prism+, are currently facing legal action. This action is being brought by the country’s consumer protection agency, the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCS), due to allegations of misleading online customers.

    Alleged Misleading Practices

    The CCS has determined that both Courts and Prism+ have violated trading laws. The retailers are accused of either charging consumers for items they did not select or implementing website features that falsely encourage immediate purchasing decisions.

    In particular, Courts’ website was reported to automatically add certain items to consumers’ carts during promotional periods, without the shoppers’ approval. This practice risks consumers unintentionally paying for additional, unwanted items. An instance of this was when a consumer chose an Apple iPad for purchase, and an Acer vacuum cleaner was subsequently added to their cart without their knowledge.

    Despite receiving customer complaints about these issues early last year, Courts did not amend their practices until the CCS intervened in June.

    Generating False Urgency

    In a separate investigation, the CCS discovered numerous design features on Prism+’s website that pressured customers into making rushed buying decisions.

    The features identified included unauthentic countdown timers for product discounts, which would reset once they reached zero. Additionally, deceptive stock indicators were used, falsely stating that certain products were ‘running low’. Overstated discounts were also observed.

    According to the CCS, these practices by Courts and Prism+ are considered to be unfair trade practices under Singapore’s fair trading laws.

    Corrective Measures

    Courts has pledged to immediately halt these deceptive practices, make adjustments to its website, and provide refunds to affected customers. Similarly, Prism+ has rectified its website’s issues and has promised not to engage in any unfair trade practices in the future.

    “COURTS confirms that it had been contacted by the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (“CCS”) regarding design features on its website that may have misled consumers.

    The issue resulted from legacy marketing practices, which are aligned with COURTS’ promotions in its physical stores, where consumers were offered the option to purchase an additional item at a discounted rate after their purchase of an item.

    After being made aware of the issue, COURTS had given an undertaking to CCS to cease this practice immediately. Following which, we have made changes to our website to rectify the issue and processed refunds to all affected customers.

    COURTS had been working closely with CCS since June 2025 to resolve the issue. Since September 2025, the issue had been fully rectified, and we have not received any recent customer complaints. We have also reviewed our website thoroughly to ensure all information are accurately displayed, so as to deliver a transparent shopping experience for customers and to minimise confusion.

    We regret the impact this incident may have had on our customers and are fully committed to enhancing our consumer protection policies to prevent similar occurrences in the future.”

    Questions & Answers

    What actions are Singapore-based retailers Courts and Prism+ facing?
    They are facing legal action from the country’s consumer watchdog, the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCS), for allegedly misleading online customers.

    What practices led to these legal actions?
    Courts is accused of automatically adding items to consumers’ shopping carts without their consent, and Prism+ is alleged to have used various website features to pressure consumers into hasty purchases.

    What measures are Courts and Prism+ taking in response to these allegations?
    Courts has pledged to halt these practices, update its website, and refund affected customers. Prism+ has also committed to making necessary changes to its website and not engaging in any unfair trade practices in the future.

  • Courts Singapore to open giant flagship where Robinsons vacated The Heeren

    Courts Singapore to open giant flagship where Robinsons vacated The Heeren

    Home appliance megastore Courts will take over the prime retail space at The Heeren which was recently vacated by retail stalwart Robinsons and make the outlet its new flagship store.

    The flagship store will occupy all six storeys of The Heeren’s retail space, making it Courts’ largest outlet in Singapore when it opens in the first quarter of 2022.

    When completed, the Heeren store will span 189,000 sq ft and replace the Tampines megastore as the chain’s flagship outlet.

    Swee Cheng Holdings, which owns The Heeren, said Courts fitted into its long-term plans for the mall but added that it has also been approached by other parties.

    “In view of the uncertainties arising from a prolonged Covid situation, we are confident that Courts’ proposed retail plans will do well at The Heeren,” it said.

    Echoing similar sentiment, Ms Esther Ho, director of Nanyang Polytechnic’s School of Business Management, said: “With customers not traveling, many are likely to dress up their homes and invest in consumer electronics. It’s good that Courts is moving quickly to capture this segment of customers during this period.”

    Its opening will also mark Nojima Corporation’s first overseas venture into a large-format store concept in a central location of Singapore.

    The Japanese consumer electronics giant had acquired Courts in 2019.

    On Courts’ choice of The Heeren as its newest location, Courts Singapore chief executive Hoang Duc Thanh Matthew said: “The Heeren is still a symbolic landmark located right in the heart of Orchard Road and we believe it holds great potential as a central location within the shopping belt.”

    “Coupled with the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA)’s long-term plans to rejuvenate Orchard Road as a lifestyle destination, we envision that the new flagship store will contribute to the vibrancy of the retail sector.”

    Currently, Courts has one outlet in Orchard, at 228 Orchard Road. A Courts spokesman told The Straits Times that the outlet has been performing well and will remain in operation for now.

    “We will review our plans again once the flagship store is up and running,” said Courts.

    The Orchard shopping belt was also home to its first store here, which opened in 1974.

    “We are looking forward to expanding our presence in Orchard Road to where it all began and raise the bar further in offering Singaporeans innovative and experiential retail experiences while shopping for electronics and home furnishings,” said Courts.

    In 2017, the URA said in a joint statement with Singapore Tourism Board that they are looking into implementing an “actionable Orchard Road Blueprint”.

    The authorities said the blueprint was to guide the precinct’s development over the next 15 to 20 years.

    Courts’ announcement comes after Robinsons closed its flagship store at The Heeren on Dec 16.

    This was followed shortly after by the closure of its last outlet at Raffles City last Saturday.

    The department store announced on Oct 30 the closure of its last two outlets here, saying the decision to liquidate was prompted by a range of factors, including changing consumer tastes and cost pressures such as rent.

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  • Courts opens first IoT store at Funan mall, Singapore

    Courts opens first IoT store at Funan mall, Singapore

    Courts Singapore has opened its first Internet of Things store at Funan mall.

    The 12,000sqft store houses Google’s first experience zone in Asia and another from Samsung.

    Consumers can try Google’s entire range of products in Singapore, from smartphones to the recently launched Nest Hub smart display, which is similar to a smart speaker but with a screen.

    Ben Tan, Courts Singapore country CEO, shared with The Straits Times that 80 per cent of the products on sale are compatible with smart-home platforms such as the one anchored by Google Assistant, Google’s artificial intelligence-powered voice-assistant software.

    “The number of smart products available here that work with Google Assistant has increased by 200 per cent this year on year,” Tan said.

    At the Samsung experiential zone at the Courts Singapore Funan mall store, consumers can try out an integrated smart home.

    They can open a door using a digital lock, see notifications from a security camera on a smart Samsung television and issue voice commands to smart home appliances such as washing machines and fridges.

    According to Tan, Courts will offer more services to go along with smart home, such as setting up the devices and educating users on how to control their smart gadgets.

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  • Courts Announces Group CEO Terry O’Connor’s Transition To Executive Advisor

    Courts Announces Group CEO Terry O’Connor’s Transition To Executive Advisor

    COURTS Asia Limited today announced that Terry O’Connor, Group CEO, will transition into an Executive Advisor role with effect from 1 July 2019 and has resigned from the Board. With the acquisition of COURTS Asia Limited by Nojima Corporation now completed, Terry expressed his desire to relinquish operational responsibilities and support the Group in an advisory capacity. As Executive Advisor, Terry will provide oversight on stakeholder relationship management and the ongoing integration process to the Company.

    Under Terry’s 20 years of leadership, COURTS has undertaken a strategic transformation journey towards solutions selling, omni-channel retailing, driving market leadership in electrical, IT and furniture categories, transforming offline stores into experience centres for consumers as well as expanded into Malaysia and Indonesia.

    Terry O’Connor said, “I am privileged to have led a wonderful team at COURTS in Singapore, then Asia, through a period of transformation and growth. We have achieved many milestones together and I feel extremely proud of leading such a talented team. Having facilitated the ownership change for COURTS from COURTS Plc in 2004 to private equity owners and now to Nojima Corporation, a long-term strategic investor, it is an opportune time for me to transition into a different role with the Company.”

    The COURTS Asia Board expressed their utmost gratitude to Terry for building COURTS into a leading household name and his support in the integration process. The Group is in advanced stages of the hiring process for a new Group CEO.

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  • Courts Asia continues negative trend as Malaysian sales tank

    Courts Asia continues negative trend as Malaysian sales tank

    Takeover target Courts Asia had a forgettable third quarter, reporting a net loss of S$171,000 – a stark contrast to the $3.51 million profit for the same period a year earlier. The company blamed lower sales and gross-profit margins together with higher income tax expenses.

    Group sales fell 6.2 per cent to $175.3 million, largely due to a 22.2 per cent decline in Malaysian sales measured in ringgit with lower consumer demand for goods and services.  Singapore sales, which account for three-quarters of the business’ overall sales, slipped a negligible 0.7 per cent, while the company’s Indonesian woes continued. Although the market accounts for just 3.4 per cent of Courts Asia’s sales, revenue fell 7.3 per cent in local currency. Courts Asia is already taking steps to stem losses in Indonesia, recently announcing the closure of one of its megastores and the downsizing of another.

    Japanese electronics retailer Nojima Corp lodged a takeover bid for Courts Asia last month, conditional only on the formal acceptance by Courts Asia’s majority shareholder  Singapore Retail Group, which has already indicated its acceptance. The Japanese company plans a strategic review of the business and will consider delisting it.

    Meanwhile, Courts Asia says it will continue to endeavour to improve efficiencies in its Malaysian business to improve productivity and return to profit. Twelve underperforming stores have already been closed reducing the network to 54.

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  • Courts Asia gets buy offer from Japan retailer Nojima

    Courts Asia gets buy offer from Japan retailer Nojima

    Japanese electronics retailer Nojima Corp has launched a conditional takeover bid for Courts Asia. The deal is conditional upon Courts Asia’s majority owner Singapore Retail Group (SRG) agreeing to the deal. Offering 20.5 cents a share for the business, the offer represents a 35 per cent premium over the price shares were trading at before the bid was revealed.

    Nojima is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Like, Courts Asia, it is an electrical appliance retailer, boasting more than 8000 employees and a market capitalisation of S$1.4 billion. Sales in the year to March 31 last year were $6.1 billion.

    Courts Asia has 80 stores trading in Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia and besides electronics sells furniture and IT products as well. The company has enjoyed mixed fortunes in recent years, impacted by external factors such as the imposition of GST in Malaysia. It reported a net loss of $3.1 million in its second quarter, a stark contrast to the net profit of $1.5 million during the same period a year earlier. Sales for the three months to September 30 fell 6.4 per cent to $165.1 million.

    Nojima says if it wins control of the company it may carry out a “strategic and operational review” of the business to realise “synergies, economies of scale, cost efficiencies and growth potential”. It will most likely delist the company in Singapore.

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  • Courts Indonesia to close its store soon

    Courts Indonesia to close its store soon

    Courts Asia is to close one of its Indonesian megastores. “The group decided to close the Courts Bumi Serpong Damai (BSD) City Megastore in Tangerang as it is historically not profitable and the group does not want to incur the high rental costs over the remaining lease term,” the retailer said in a statement. Courts Retail Indonesia will also buy the property it currently leases which houses the Kota Harapan Indah (KHI) megastore.

    Both properties were leased from Garwita Sentra Utama. Courts will forfeit a security deposit of Rp14.38 billion (S$1.379 million) and pay a penalty for early termination of the BSD site of Rp 38.7 billion ($3.6 million). The Singapore company will pay Rp97.56 billion (S$9.36 million) to purchase the other site.

    The KHI store has a total gross floor area of 21,800sqm, with about 24 years remaining on the lease.

    Courts said in its statement that the property reorganisation was part of an ongoing review of its store network.

    Having taken ownership of the KHI building, the company can consider options including downsizing its megastore and repurposing the remaining space for other commercial uses.

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  • Courts Asia shows negative number after Malaysian woes

    Courts Asia shows negative number after Malaysian woes

    Singaporean electronics and furniture retailer Courts Asia has posted a net loss of SG$3.1 million (US$2.25 million) in its second quarter.

    The result is a reversal of a net profit of $1.5 million (US$1.09 million) during the same period last year.

    Courts Asia said in a statement that Malaysia revenue came under pressure after the introduction of the Consumer Protection (Credit Sale) Regulations 2017 which saw consumer interest rates capped at 15 per cent per annum from January. However, ongoing transformation work with a persistent focus on cost and productivity efficiencies in Malaysia reaped results, with Malaysia’s PBT crossing into positive terrain after two consecutive quarters of loss.”

    Group CEO Terence Donald O’Connor said: “We are encouraged by the early signs of stabilisation in the Malaysia business. We have closed 10 underperforming stores since the start of our financial year in April and continue to review our store network performance. Impairment loss on trade receivables charged to the profit and loss statement has also been on a declining trend from the fourth quarter ended March.”

    The Singapore firm recorded $3.4 million profit before tax after starting out on its store transformation process, up from $3 million last year. It renovated its Ang Mo Kio outlet last month.

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  • Courts faces some challenges in Malaysia market

    Courts faces some challenges in Malaysia market

    Electrical, IT and furniture retailer Courts Asia has narrowed a quarter-on-quarter loss following transformation work in its Malaysia operations.

    In its first quarter results, the company said its business in Malaysia had been hit hard by regulatory changes in the territory. The group’s profitability was impacted by the introduction of the Consumer Protection (Credit Sale) Regulations 2017 (“CPAA”), which came into operation on January 1.

    Courts reported a 3.6 per cent year-on-year dip in revenue to S$179.8 million (US$130.86 million) for the period, mainly attributable to Malaysian revenue decline. Correspondingly, a first-quarter net loss of S$2.2 million (US$1.6 million) was reported.

    Courts Asia’s executive director and CEO Dr Terence O’Connor said the group’s business performance continues to be impacted by the interest rate cap imposed by CPAA in Malaysia.

    “However, there are early indicators to suggest that the business transformation work in Malaysia is delivering green shoots. Revenue in Malaysia improved by 16.8 per cent and loss before tax reduced by 36.5 per cent, to S$6.1m from S$9.6 million in the first quarter, compared to the preceding quarter.”

    As part of the group’s ongoing store-optimisation efforts in a post-CPAA environment, five underperforming outlets have been closed, leaving 58 in Malaysia. The group is redefining its store strategy there and will be downsizing its Megastore at Sri Damansara to make way for an incoming tenant. Marketing spend has also been reduced in alignment with a smaller store footprint.

    O’Connor added: “The team recognises the urgency and is in overdrive mode to deliver the transformation work in Malaysia. It is a significant undertaking that will take time to execute and finetune. That said, we have reason to believe that the results are trending in the right direction.”

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  • Courts Invests in Growth by Reimagining Its Omni-Channel Retail Experience

    Courts Invests in Growth by Reimagining Its Omni-Channel Retail Experience

    Specialising in electronics, IT and furniture, COURTS Singapore has put more than a year into researching and redesigning its in-store experiences and omni-channel customer journey. The results are two recent announcements: the relaunch of its e-commerce website, built by e-commerce agency SmartOSC, together with the opening of its newly redesigned Megastore in Tampines, transforming the store experience to serve a wider range of customers seamlessly across touchpoints.

    There has been a significant change in the way customers shop around the world, and they now take a more sophisticated path by engaging with both online and offline channels to collect information and make purchasing decisions. With the new releases, COURTS seeks to catch multi-channel customer generations who, according to recent research published in HBR, spent an average of 4% more on every shopping occasion in the store and 10% more online than single-channel customers. Even more compelling, with every additional channel they used, the shoppers spent more money in the store.

    The new COURTS Online now boasts over 17,000 SKUs, making it their largest store across COURTS’ regional network. SmartOSC, COURTS’ e-commerce partner, has helped them to establish a new mobile first and user-centric experiences with features that connect their digital and physical stores. COURTS customers can research and purchase online to later pick up in-store or ship-from-store, all while accessing their personal accounts. The system also gives COURTS customer service and retail associate teams the information they require to meet customers’ end-to-end needs by connecting all of their touchpoints.

    Built upon Magento Enterprise 2, combined with innovative solutions for omni-channel retailing, marketing automation, and content management, COURTS’ new e-commerce system offers a real-time single view of inventory and customer profiles, activated through integrations with ERP and retail management systems. The website has also been built to be easily navigable, featuring a completely refreshed intuitive navigation, search and faster check-out experience.

    Mr. Stan Kim, Chief Strategy Officer at COURTS Asia shared, “The COURTS Online relaunch was timed strategically around key retail events of the year such as Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Powered by the new platform, online sales for both events grew almost 100% year-on-year. Engaging with the right partners has proved to be pivotal to our e-commerce growth this year. COURTS will continue strengthening its back-end infrastructure to offer customers the seamless online-to-offline experience they expect from best-in-class retailers. We will continue to drive online growth, and our ambition is to grow online sales to comprise 10-15% of the business in five years’ time.”

    The relaunched COURTS e-commerce site augments the transformed retail experience in the physical stores, delivering the ultimate in ‘bricks and clicks’ shopping. The newly redesigned COURTS Megastore in Tampines stands as an aspirational hub featuring the latest in-store experiences, with dedicated experiential retail spaces that have been redesigned to be more immersive, focusing on memorable and informative experiences that will bring customers into the store to encounter the products firsthand.

    COURTS features a 30-day lowest price guarantee and 30-day hassle-free returns both online and in all stores, and tourist tax free scheme to help customers feel secure and confident with their purchase decision. The retailer operates more than 80 stores across Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia, spanning over 1.6 million square feet of retail space.

  • From clicks and bricks strategy for Courts Singapore

    From clicks and bricks strategy for Courts Singapore

    Electronics, IT and furniture retailer Courts Singapore has relaunched its website and reopened its Tampines megastore after transforming it to offer customers an omni-channel experience.

    Built by e-commerce agency SmartOSC, the new Courts Online store has more than 17,000 SKUs and offers improved navigation and searching, plus faster checkout. New mobile-first and user-centric features connect the retailer’s digital and physical stores. Customers can research and buy online, and pick up purchases in-store or have them delivered.

    Combining omni-channel retailing, automated marketing and content management, the e-commerce system offers Courts a real-time view of inventory and customer profiles.

    Courts Asia chief strategy officer Stan Kim says the website was launched in time for last month’s Black Friday and Cyber Monday retail events, with sales for both almost doubling from the previous year.

    Meanwhile, the Courts Megastore in Tampines offers experiential retail spaces designed to offer memorable and informative experiences for customers.

    Courts has more than 80 stores across Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia.

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  • Courts Singapore getting serious with flagship store

    Courts Singapore getting serious with flagship store

    Courts Singapore has redesigned its flagship megastore in Tampines, offering a new immersive experience for customers.

    For the upgrade, the retailer of home electronics, IT and furniture products has put a particular focus on the needs of modern apartment living.

    With its official grand opening on Saturday, the store offers 136,000sqft (12,600sqm) over three floors, with experiential areas making up most of the space.

    In conjunction with the makeover, Courts has also unveiled its relaunched online store which now seamlessly unifies the offline/online shopping experience. The webstore is the largest in its network, offering more than 17,000 SKUs as well as introducing intuitive navigation, search and a faster check-out experience. There is also the option to collect purchases in its physical stores.

    Courts Singapore - Tampines flagship - The newly redesigned Level 1 atrium at COURTS Megastore Tampines

    “We are making good living and great in-store experiences accessible and affordable to all Singapore homeowners – a vision we’ve stayed true to since we first opened 43 years ago,” says group CEO Dr Terry O’Connor.

    Courts Singapore - Tampines flagship - 50 per cent of COURTS online shoppers choose to buy online and collect in-store, at convenient Click and Collect counters

    $10 million investment

    The flagship upgrade is part of Courts Singapore’s S$10 million (US$7.3 million) investment into a series of store refurbishments for the financial year with a focus on new retail concepts and experiential areas. Courts has also launched a new brand slogan, “Better Living, Better Prices”.

    “The Courts Megastore transformation is the result of a year of planning and two months of renovation work, combining the expertise of the commercial, visual merchandising and store operations teams,” says Courts Singapore country CEO Ben Tan.

    Courts Singapore - Tampines flagship - Four new chef demonstration areas bring culinary delights and in-store theatre to shoppers

    “We’ve curated every aspect of the shopping journey,” he says. This includes online integration, a new range for lifestyle and smart technology trends, complementary furniture customisation and three-week delivery.

    Courts Singapore - Tampines flagship -Smart home link-up is demonstrated at Design Studio by COURTS, and available for purchase at COURTS' one-stop solutions provider GURU

    Courts Singapore - Tampines flagship -Customising your sofa is as easy as 1-2-3 with over 2,500 COURTS-exclusive fabrics and over 150 leather and half-leather options to pick from

    With every furniture consultation customers are offered a free cup of artisanal coffee. Bespoke options are available for every furnishing need from sofas, curtains and blinds to wardrobes, bedding and dining tables.

    In its bedding department Courts offers more than 1000 types of mattresses from 23 brands. Shoppers can customise their bed frames and headboards. The revamped bedding area has 11 galleries including new brand for healthy living.

    Courts Singapore - Tampines flagship- A wide array of dining tables in various materials, finishes and bases are offered on the floor

    Design services

    For new homeowners, the Courts Design Studio offers services covering interior design, renovation, furnishing, flexible finance and smart-home connectivity. Consultants are on hand from two award-winning interior-design firms. The studio houses a full-size four-room HDB apartment and studio apartment showroom, integrated with smart-home automation.

    Courts Singapore - Tampines flagship - COURTS is the largest bedding retailer with over 1,000 mattresses from 23 brands

    On the same level, the new Home Gallery is an adaptable showroom space that will be regularly refreshed with room settings and also doubles up as a furniture photoshoot studio. The showroom has two movable walls.

    There is also a Dulux Paint Experience area where shoppers can experiment with colours.

    Four new interactive cooking demonstration stations will feature chefs and cooking hosts. Hungry shoppers have the new Mo Cafe for single-origin coffee and cakes, and a Subway with a window overlooking the third level.

    Samsung Open House 2.0 is an experiential retail concept offering an interactive and connected smart-home experience. It showcases the brand’s range of digital appliances on a 85in. UHD display, allowing shoppers to visualise how each appliance might look in their home. The neighbouring LG Home Entertainment area showcases a range of setups.

    Hands-on gaming

    Courts Singapore - Tampines flagship - The new Gaming Zone at COURTS is a space hosting multiplayer gaming tournaments and a key experiential zone in the store

    Courts has also expanded its gaming zone with such brands as Acer Predator, Alienware, Asus Republic of Gamers, Lenovo Legion, MSI and Razer. shoppers can try out the latest PC games, and there is a space designed to host multiplayer gaming tournaments.

    Also launched at the megastore is Guru, which offers more than 100 repair and maintenance services for more than 20 home-product categories. It will be open 365 days a year with its own in-store service counter as well as a phone hotline, and will also offer home cleaning, painting and fix-it services with warranties.

    COURTS has expanded its gaming retail area with nine PC, console and augmented reality gaming brands

    To mark the flagship’s official opening, a four-week celebration will offer discounts of up to 90 per cent, and deals such as a free Xbox One, worth $499, with the purchase of any gaming laptop computer.

    There will also be a celebrity line-up including Arsenal and Liverpool football stars, singer Joanna Dong, Running Man star Kim Jong Kook and Singapore’s first boxing champion, Muhamad Ridhwan.

    Free public Wi-Fi as well as complimentary parking are also available.

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  • Retailer Courts Asia more than triples its earnings despite challenging retail environment

    Retailer Courts Asia more than triples its earnings despite challenging retail environment

    Despite the challenging retail landscape, Courts Asia more than tripled its profit for the full year ended March 31. Mainboard-listed Courts Asia took in earnings of S$23.7 million, up from S$6.8 million in the previous year.

    The company delivered a strong performance in spite of a slip in revenue, which fell 1.5 per cent to S$740.5 million.

    The firm attributed the profit improvement to better cost and margin management. It said that Singapore contributed 66.3 per cent of the group’s revenue. Sales here fell by 2.7 per cent from last year, mainly due to lower sales of goods, which was offset by higher service charge income.

    While revenue in Malaysia fell by 3.1 per cent due to currency conversions, revenue in Indonesia rose 59.2 per cent due to contributions from new stores.

    Courts Asia has more than 90 stores in three markets, including 69 in Malaysia and eight in Indonesia.

    The company also said it had applied the new Singapore financial reporting standard 115 revenue from contracts with customers (FRS 115) to its financial statements for the year before, even though the effective date for the implementation of the standard is for accounting periods beginning on or after Jan 1, 2018.

    The change has an impact on the revenue recognition for credit sales and services, resulting in a restatement of reporting earnings for prior years, including the 2016 financial year.

    Earnings per share for the full year came to 4.59 cents, while net asset value per share was 42.5 cents as at March 31.

    It declared a final dividend of 1.29 cents per share, which was unchanged from the last two financial years.

    In a press release, the company said it will invest in new store openings across Malaysia and Indonesia, and refresh existing stores across its three markets with the “next generation” concept. It is targeting a minimum of five new stores each in Malaysia and Indonesia by March 2018.

    It added that the company is exploring the option of “pop-up” stores with short term leases that could potentially be converted into permanent stores. This would serve as an interim measure to add market share, it noted.

    The group has also started to trial door-to-door credit sales in Indonesia, which it said would add a new stream of recurring customers.

    Dr Terence Donald O’Connor, Courts Asia’s executive director and group chief executive officer, said that the company delivered a strong set of results despite the challenging retail environment.

    “In the year ahead, we will leverage the growth levers to expand solutions-selling in all categories, transform offline stores into experience centres and drive omni-channel execution with urgency.”

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  • Courts names new CEO in Indonesia

    Courts names new CEO in Indonesia

    Singapore-based tech retailer Courts has appointed a new boss for its operation in Indonesia. Joseph Greenway has been named as the new country CEO. Greenway rejoins Courts after two years as COO of Fantastic Furniture in Australia. Prior to that, Greenway spent 15 years at Courts in a variety of executive roles in Singapore and Malaysia. The appointment comes after Roy Santoso resigned from his role as Indonesia country CEO at Courts to pursue other career opportunities.

    Courts board stated: “Given his knowledge and experience of Courts business, Mr Greenway was shortlisted as one of the preferred candidates. He was put through various levels of interviews with senior management before the final selection. The board opined that he has the requisite experience to take the country CEO role.”

    Listed on the Mainboard of the Singapore Exchange in October 2012, Courts Asia is a leading electrical, IT and furniture retailer in South East Asia. The retailer’s expansion into Indonesia was led by the opening of a megastore in Kota Harapan Indah, Bekasi in October 2014. The second Courts megastore in Indonesia opened in BSD City, Tangerang in January 2016.

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