Retail News CRM

Tag: expansion

  • Liho Singapore opens first outlet in Brunei

    Liho Singapore opens first outlet in Brunei

    Singaporean bubble tea brand Liho has launched in Brunei with its first outlet at Times Square Brunei Darussalam. The new Liho Brunei store is the result of a year’s preparation and is the first of 10 to 12 outlets planned across the country within the next year. The brand, popular for its brown sugar pearls, operates 93 locations across Singapore and already has a presence in Vietnam.

    “We are still growing and year to year outlook growth is around 20 per cent,” said Liho’s co-founder Rodney Tang. “As long as we understand the customers’ taste and needs, we can continue to grow. We intend to bring in more creative flavours to Brunei.”

  • Samsung in strategically key Vietnam for the long haul

    Samsung in strategically key Vietnam for the long haul

    South Korean conglomerate Samsung is committed to a long-term presence in Vietnam as a major base for its global operations. Won Hwan Shim, vice president of Samsung Electronics, reiterated the group’s commitment to Vietnam in a Friday meeting with Vietnam’s Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc. Shim said that Samsung’s plants in Vietnam had the most impressive growth among the company’s global facilities.

    Samsung, the world’s biggest smartphone maker, has been investing more and more in Vietnam, especially in its research and development centers, Shim said, adding that the group is transferring technologies to these local facilities.

    The company invested $600 million to finish the Samsung Ho Chi Minh City Research & Development Center in November 2017, its second such facility in the country after Hanoi, he noted.

    PM Phuc said that he expects more impressive growth numbers from Samsung this year, and also asked that Samsung continues to make Vietnam its most important global base, further expanding its operations here.

    Samsung has invested $17.3 billion in eight factories and two research and development centers in Vietnam, creating jobs for more than 160,000 locals.

    It is the largest foreign investor in Vietnam. Last year, Samsung estimated its exports from Vietnam was $60 billion, up 12 percent from 2017, accounting for a quarter of Vietnam’s total exports.

    Samsung last month closed one of two phone factories in China to focus more on low-cost countries like Vietnam and India for production as reported.

    The group’s two phone factories in Vietnam together make 240 million units a year. The factories, located in the northern provinces of Bac Ninh and Thai Nguyen, produce half of all the cellphones that Samsung supplies to the global market.

  • The Alley Taiwan debuts in Singapore

    The Alley Taiwan debuts in Singapore

    Taiwanese bubble-tea chain The Alley is to open its first outlet in Singapore. Despite the undisclosed location, the brand has already got Singaporean bubble-tea fans excited with an announcement on its Instagram and Facebook pages. Established in 2013, The Alley is well-known for its brown sugar tapioca (Deerioca) milk tea served in cups with with round bases.

    The chain has outlets in Canada, US, France, Korea, Japan, China, Hong Kong, Thailand, the Philippines, Australia and New Zealand. The Alley entered Vietnam in November 2017, and now has 35 stores nationwide.

  • LOTS Wholesale Solutions expands footprint with its third store in India

    LOTS Wholesale Solutions expands footprint with its third store in India

    LOTS Wholesale Solutions, a part of the US$ 50 billion Charoen Pokphand Group and a wholly owned subsidiary of Siam Makro Public Company Limited from Thailand, has unveiled its third wholesale distribution centre in India at Ithum, Sector 62, Noida. In 2018, the company inaugurated their stores at Netaji Subhash Place and Akshardham. The three stores, opened within a span of seven months, will cater to a total of 1,40,000 registered customers in Delhi NCR.

    LOTS Wholesale Solutions store in Noida is the first step towards the company’s commitment of investing Rs 250 crore in the state of Uttar Pradesh. The expansion plan will witness the opening of more stores in the state in the coming years.

    The new store in Noida is spread over an area of 50,000 sq.ft. and will provide its customers with more than 5,500 assorted products in food and non-food categories. It will cater to over 40,000 business customers with a diverse clientele including kiranas, hotels, restaurants and caterers (HoReCa), corporates, MSMEs and institutions such as government agencies, educational institutes and hospitals from the catchment area.

    In addition to the announcement of its third store, LOTS Wholesale Solutions also launched its own brands Basic Plus and PlusMo with an aim to provide best quality products at economical prices. The first two product categories introduced under these brands are bakery items and home-cleaning.

    Talking about the launch of the third store in India, Tanit Chearavanont, Managing Director, LOTS Wholesale Solutions said, ‘Following our values of victory, we have outperformed ourselves and unveiled the third store within a span of seven months. As promised, we delivered our two stores in 2018. Uttar Pradesh was an obvious choice for expansion after Delhi NCR, owing to the proximity to the enormous market opportunity in the state. It fits well within our cluster strategy for the business in India. Aided by government support, we aim to establish an environment of mutual growth for farmers, traders and our business in the state. We will work directly with them to establish a strong supply chain and demand for their products.’

    Featuring specially curated assortments for its members, delivery services, e-commerce, credit facility etc, LOTS Wholesale Solutions is a one-stop shop for all its customer needs.

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  • JD.com steps into entertainment industry

    JD.com steps into entertainment industry

    JD.com, China’s largest retailer, has joined forces with Paramount Pictures and global play and entertainment company Hasbro to celebrate the Chinese release of the new TRANSFORMERS movie BUMBLEBEE. On the run in the year 1987, BUMBLEBEE finds refuge in a junkyard in a small Californian beach town. Charlie (Hailee Steinfeld), on the cusp of turning 18 and trying to find her place in the world, discovers BUMBLEBEE, battle-scarred and broken. When Charlie revives him, she quickly learns this is no ordinary, yellow VW bug.

    JD first partnered with Hasbro and the TRANSFORMERS franchise in 2017, releasing a MISSION RED mini short that showed Optimus Prime and Red Knight – a special JD exclusive TRANSFORMERS character – fighting to protect the energon fuel source. This year’s celebration will be accompanied by a series of three mini shorts featuring Panasonic and Chinese menswear brand HLA in which Red Knight protects energon.

    JD and Hasbro are also bringing Red Knight to life by creating an action figure of this TRANSFORMERS bot. Released on Dec 29, 2018, the exclusive action figure is only available on JD.

    JD also launched a “Super BUMBLEBEE Day” sales promotion to coincide with the Jan 4 premiere of the film in China. During the promotion, JD’s more than 300 million customers were able to purchase BUMBLEBEE movie-themed merchandise from Hasbro, Panasonic, HLA, and more. JD has outfitted multiple delivery vans and delivery boxes across China with BUMBLEBEE-themed designs.

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  • Watsons Vietnam opens first store this month

    Watsons Vietnam opens first store this month

    Hong Kong-headquartered healthcare and beauty retailer Watsons is to launch in Vietnam. The first Watsons Vietnam store will open on January 17, in the lower floors of the high-profile Bitexco tower in downtown Ho Chi Minh City. The store will take up at least one floor of a two-storey space recently vacated by Topshop. Teasing the launch, a huge backdrop with the slogan “Look good, Feel great” has been built outside the space, attracting many Vietnamese youngsters to take selfies and check in on social media.

    On its LinkedIn page, Watsons Vietnam has been recruiting staff for the store and featuring the same artwork as on the Bitexco backdrop.

    Watsons Vietnam will compete with rival Hong Kong healthcare and beauty chain Guardian, owned by Dairy Farm International, which launched in Ho Chi Minh City in 2011 and now claims to have more than 60 stores in four cities.

    Watsons is operated by AS Watson, a subsidiary of retail and telecommunications giant CK Hutchison which is quarter-owned by Singapore sovereign investment fund Temasek Holdings. AS Watson has some 6800 Watsons health and beauty stores in 12 markets in Asia and Europe, including Hong Kong, Mainland China, Taiwan, Macau, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines and Indonesia. The broader AS Watson group has 14,500 stores, including electrical retailers and grocery stores.

    Watsons has just celebrated the opening of its 500th store in Bangkok, Thailand. The store photo accompanying this story is of Watson’s new-generation store at IconSiam in Bangkok.

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  • Shilla duty free open new store

    Shilla duty free open new store

    Shilla Duty Free opens at Gimpo International Airport’s international terminal on Wednesday. The duty-free store run by Hotel Shilla was approved by the government in June last year in a bid against Lotte Duty Free. The duty-free store is renting the place for five years.

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  • Indonesia’s Go-Jek rejected in the Philippines

    Indonesia’s Go-Jek rejected in the Philippines

    Indonesia’s Go-Jek suffered a setback to its expansion plans on Wednesday after the transportation regulator in the Philippines rejected its application to launch a ride-hailing service, saying its domestic unit did not meet local ownership criteria. However, the setback may only be temporary as the firm, whose backers include Google, could appeal the decision or team up with Philippine investors.

    “Go-Jek can get a local partner that will own at least 60 percent of the ride-hailing entity to comply with the law,” said January Sabale, head of communications at the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB).

    The decision comes as Go-Jek seeks to expand in Southeast Asia, having evolved from a ride-hailing service founded in 2011 to provide a one-stop app through which users can order food and services such as massages and make payments online.

    The firm has raised billions of dollars from investors such as Tencent Holdings, JD.com and Temasek Holdings to challenge market leader Grab.

    Several Philippine ride-hailing firms have been operating in the capital Manila and in major provinces since March 2017, but have had limited success in wresting domestic market share away from Singapore-based Grab, which stands at over 90 percent.

    “Homegrown firms are not making a dent on early player Grab, because the cars they can enroll now have to go through the LTFRB’s filtering hurdles,” said Rene Santiago, a transportation expert and president of Bellwether Advisory in Manila.

    Go-Jek applied for a license to operate in Manila in August through wholly owned subsidiary Velox Technology Philippines. Later the same month, ride-hailing was added to a list of industries where foreign ownership is limited to 40 percent.

    Velox “did not meet the citizenship requirement and the application was not verified in accordance with our rules,” regulator chairman Martin Delgra said

    A spokesman for Go-Jek said: “We continue to engage positively with the LTFRB and other government agencies, as we seek to provide a much-needed transportation solution for the people of the Philippines.”

    There are around 37,000 registered ride-hailing vehicles across eight accredited firms, Delgra said. The Department of Transportation has capped the total at 65,000.

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  • Shakey’s Pizza to open 20 more stores in Asia

    Shakey’s Pizza to open 20 more stores in Asia

    Philippines fast-food operator Shakey’s Pizza Asia says it plans to continue expansion across the region by opening 20 new stores this year. The openings will see the brand’s total outlets increase to 248 locations, according to a statement released by the firm on Wednesday. “We continue to see consumer spending fueling the Philippine economy, which is still one of Southeast Asia’s fastest-growing markets,” said president and CEO Vicente L Gregorio.

    Shakeys reached its target of opening 20 new stores last year, expanding mostly outside first-tier cities. “We are focused on expanding outside Metro Manila where we see great potential in terms of demand for the premium yet affordable dining experience we provide. We also tapped more local partners … to run our provincial operations and to ensure that we have on-the-ground accountability even in farther-flung areas,” said Gregorio.

    Shakeys has operated in the Philippines since 1975 under Shakey’s Pizza Asia, which has stores in several international territories and opened its second Dubai location last year with record-breaking first-day sales.

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  • Kutchina opens second store in Nepal

    Kutchina opens second store in Nepal

    Kutchina has opened its second store in Kathmandu spanning across 500 sq.ft. Targeting middle and higher income group customers, the store offers complete kitchen solutions including entire range of big appliances and modular kitchen. Look and feel of the store is a mixture of Kutchina’s modern concept with a traditional touch of Nepal’s rich culture. The walls of the store are given a look of Brick Mounting which resembles traditional houses of Nepal and adds that wow factor to the store.

    Designed by in-house designers, the store highlights all the elements of the products with the use of LED and Track lights. At present, the brand has 20 stores in India and 2 in Nepal.

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  • Chinese Smartphone Realme Eyes to Expand Southeast Asia

    Chinese Smartphone Realme Eyes to Expand Southeast Asia

    BBK Electronics’ budget smartphone brand Realme is eyeing expansion into Southeast Asia, Africa and Europe. The company’s online distribution strategy has brought it success in the Indian market and makes broader expansion possible, according to Realme global CEO Sky Li Bingzhong. “The company’s asset-light operations and focus on online sales allow it to keep costs low. That way, more young consumers can afford its products, which makes the brand more competitive in the market,” said Li.

    Realme launched in India in May last year with handsets priced at INR8,990 (US$129) – becoming the second top-selling smartphone brand during the Diwali festival season from October to November. The brand has joined a number of Chinese phone manufacturers seeking to build strength in the Indian market as they challenge more established international competitors in more saturated markets.

    BBK also owns the Oppo, Vivo and OnePlus brands, selling mid- to high-end models. Independent Realme runs its own R&D operations, but partners with Oppo in smartphone production. Its expansion moves are indicative of Chinese phone manufacturers’ larger strategy to deploy varying brands that each target specific markets globally.

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  • Tom n Toms plans Myanmar expansion

    Tom n Toms plans Myanmar expansion

    South Korean Cafe chain Tom n Toms has started to launch outlets in Myanmar. Tom n Toms Myanmar has opened two locations in Yangon so far, at the international airport and the Kantharyar Centre, with a third planned for Yankin Township. Information from Myanmar International Business Alliance Company operation director Aung Sithu Khant revealed a fourth planned outlet at the Secretariat Building in Yangon.

    “Myanmar people and coffee brands have been friendly for a long time,” said Khant.

    “We opened these outlets hoping that Myanmar people can taste a high-quality coffee with reasonable price. Next month, strawberries from south Korea will be selling in Myanmar. We will introduce a menu connecting with strawberries.”

    Khant said the third outlet will be opened soon. Future Tom n Toms cafes are expected to open in Mandalay, Taunggyi, and the capital city, Nay Pyi Taw next year.

    “The main thing is the customer is always first. Therefore, we will pay special attention to coffee and other foodstuffs”.

  • Rimowa opens in Tokyo first stand-alone store in Japan

    Rimowa opens in Tokyo first stand-alone store in Japan

    Rimowa Japan has opened its first standalone store in Tokyo. The luxury luggage brand’s new 900sqm outlet in Ginza features a minimalist decor focused on a spiral staircase backed by a backdrop of basketweave, recalling a traditional Japanese craft design aesthetic. Rimowa Japan says the store is equipped to perform simple repairs, with staff speaking both English and Chinese, to cater for the tourist market.

    A heritage brand founded in Cologne, Germany, more than a century ago, the brand is primarily known for its aluminium and polycarbonate suitcase lines. LVMH owns a controlling 80 per cent stake in the brand.

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  • PUMA opens their first ever SELECT door in the Philippines

    PUMA opens their first ever SELECT door in the Philippines

    The first Puma Select store in the Philippines has opened. The new store launched last month at the Uptown Mall in Bonifacio Global City in Taguig and features the brand’s latest product range and collaborations – including high-profile partnerships with Fenty, Ken Lagerfeld, and Rihanna. A statement from the firm said the launch coincides with “the burgeoning streetwear scene in the Philippines”.

    The brand’s website says Puma Select “fuses performance with culture and fashion by revisiting Puma’s rich history and innovation as a leading sports brand, and combining this with our philosophy of creating premium product for the willing consumer”.

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  • Amway forays into the herbal oral care segment

    Amway forays into the herbal oral care segment

    Amway India, the country’s largest FMCG direct selling company has announced the launch of its latest innovation – ‘Glister Herbals Toothpaste’, to mark its entry into the herbal oral care market. Building on the success of its globally popular Rs 100 crore brand – Glister, the new herbal oral care product is a seamless blend of numerous herbal ingredients with appealing taste and pleasing color to suit everyone’s palate. With this new and advanced product, Amway aims to target the flourishing Rs 1,980 crores oral care segment in India.

    Announcing the launch of Glister Herbals, Sundip Shah, Chief Marketing Officer, Amway India, said, “Glister has been one of our most popular global brands. A bestseller for over five decades, it has won the trust of millions of consumers worldwide and has been an integral part of their oral hygiene routine. Keeping with our commitment of offering highest quality products and addressing the increasing demand for natural and herbal alternatives for long-term healthy living, Glister Herbals is an expansion of our flagship brand and indigenously developed for our Indian consumers.”

    He further added, “The industry for herbal oral care products has grown significantly in recent years, fueled by consumers’ preference for herbal solutions and trust in their long-term benefits. However, our research empirically highlights the need for likeable sensorials – a gap that exists in the available offerings in the market currently. This often leads to consumers shifting to regular and non-herbal products. Glister Herbals’ has the goodness of herbs with great taste and appealing colour. With this powerful mix, we aim to transform the product usage experience and long-term adoption of herbal toothpastes in the market and I am confident in our latest innovation and its potential to transform the category”

    Anisha Sharma, Category Head, Beauty & Personal Care, Amway India, added, “Glister Herbals is best defined as the herbal oral care solution from Amway offering great taste with the goodness of herbs. This multi-action toothpaste is enriched with 11 ingredients such as spearmint, clove, ginger, neem, mulethi, among others, which are known for their benefits and great taste. It also has biodegradable microbeads of essential oils comprising clove and tea tree to ensure maximum efficacy of the constituents. The goodness of herbs promises 12-hour germ protection and fresh breath benefits along with remineralization and teeth whitening.”

    She further added, “We are excited with the business opportunity offered by the market. In order to ensure national wide reach and to engage consumers, we are introducing digital activations across platforms and organizing dental camps in key markets. As ingredient story and taste is key to the success of our new herbal offering, we have begun taste challenges for our direct sellers for which we have received an overwhelming response. We are sure that the Glister Herbals will receive favorable response from the consumers.”

    Glister Herbals follows the thriving success of Amway’s Nutrilite Traditional Herbs in its Nutrition and Attitude Be Bright Herbals in beauty categories last year.

    Amway Glister Herbals is sold exclusively by Amway Direct Sellers across India and can be easily ordered on the company’s website.

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