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Tag: expansion

  • Longines ambassador Lin Chi-Ling attends Macau launch

    Longines ambassador Lin Chi-Ling attends Macau launch

    Longines Lin Chi-Ling, the Taiwanese model and actress, was a special guest at the grand opening in Macau of the Longines boutique at T Galleria by DFS, inside City of Dreams.

    Lin Chi-Ling, Longines ambassador of elegance joined DFS Group for the grand opening of the Longines boutique at T Galleria by DFS at the City of Dreams in Macau

    The Swiss watch brand used the occasion to launch the Longines Master Collection DFS Special Edition. This dial of this watch has a pattern inspired by Venice landmark The Doge’s Palace (the first DFS store in Europe was opened in the city of canals).

    Longines and DFS Group celebrate the opening of the Longines boutique with special guest, Longines Ambassador of Elegance Lin Chi-Ling. From left: Christophe Chaix DFS Group senior VP fashion, watches, jewellery and accessories; Walter Von Känel Longines president; Lin Chi-Ling Longines ambassador of elegance; Sibylle Scherer DFS Group president merchandising and consumer marketing; Benjamin Vuchot DFS Group region president, Asia North; Sunny Yu senior VP, entertainment and projects, Melco Crown Entertainment

    Created especially for DFS and cased in steel, the watch will be released globally from March 1.

    Covering more than 500 sqft (46 sqm), The Longines boutique features timepieces from the brand’s signature collections, and augments the 29 watch and jewellery brands in the newly expanded Watches and Jewelry Hall at T Galleria by DFS, City of Dreams.

    Marking the store opening was a ribbon-cutting and celebratory toast by Longines president Walter von Känel, Lin Chi-Ling, DFS Group president for merchandising and consumer marketing Sibylle Scherer, and DFS Group Asia north president Benjamin Vuchot.

    Lin Chi-Ling has been associated with Longines since 2005 and is officially Ambassador of Elegance. Apart from modelling, she is a television presenter, awards presenter and is about to make her movie debut in the John Woo film The Battle of Red Cliff.

    Less glamorously, Chi-Ling has also written a book, with the rather technical title Emissions of 2,2,4-trimethyl-1,3-pentanediol Monoisobutyrate from Latex Paint.

  • FedEx to bolster its e-commerce business in Asia

    FedEx to bolster its e-commerce business in Asia

    FedEx will expand its global e-commerce business in an effort to compete for the growing number of packages shipped to consumers from China and Japan, executives said Monday.

    The company, which in 2014 acquired Bongo International, a company that helps shoppers purchase goods from foreign retailers by automatically adjusting currencies, and customs and shipping costs, by location, is rebranding the business as FedEx CrossBorder. The company plans to expand its services to merchants in China and Japan by next June, said Chip Hull, vice president of the newly named division. The company already consolidates shipments for global e-commerce retailers in the U.S., Europe and Peru.

    Asia “is the second-largest region from an export perspective in the cross-border space, on par with Europe, and is growing at a faster rate,” Hull said. As global e-commerce grows at double-digit rates around the world, “Asia is certainly the 800-pound gorilla in the room.”

    FedEx’s international e-commerce efforts have come as other companies are investing in helping retailers with international online-shopping services. United Parcel Service acquired i-Parcel around the same time that FedEx bought Bongo, and Pitney Bowes acquired Borderfree last year. Deutsche Post AG’s DHL also offers international e-commerce services.

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  • Max’s Group taking Yellow Cab Pizza to Vietnam

    Max’s Group taking Yellow Cab Pizza to Vietnam

    Filipino casual-dining company Max’s Group is taking its pizza chain Yellow Cab Pizza to Vietnam.

    Max’s Group says it has signed a development agreement with Blue Star Food in Ho Chi Minh City to roll out at least 12 Yellow Cab Pizza stores in Vietnam within five years, says president/CEO Robert Trota.

    The timing and locations of the Vietnam restaurants have not been revealed, but the plan will raise Yellow Cab’s international network to 165 outlets.

    Blue Star Food CEO Nguyen Thanh Nam says Vietnam’s young and affluent population has been targeted by significant developments in the F&B industry.
    “A lot of Western and casual-dining restaurants are flourishing in Vietnam,” he says, including McDonald’s and Starbucks.

    Blue Star Food oversees 45 ice-cream parlours for US brand Baskin Robbins.
    Western food represents 7 per cent of dining-out visits in Vietnam, according a survey by UK market research company Decision Lab.

  • Synchronised ideas for major expansion

    Synchronised ideas for major expansion

    THE old adage, “when going gets tough, the tough get going” still rings true in today’s challenging economic climate.

    This is the mindset of Sogo Malaysia group deputy chairman Datuk Andrew Lim and group managing director Datuk Alfred Cheng, who are exploring a joint venture to set up six flagship stores in the country within the next five years.

    Lim said they both had a synchronised idea of taking the Sogo group forward.

    “Through a 50:50 joint venture, we hope to bring an additional layer of excellent retailing into the Malaysian context by offering international and domestic shoppers a wholesome shopping experience,” he said.

    Speaking about the country’s retail industry, Lim noticed a lack of quality retailing.

    “In order to have a vibrant retail industry in Malaysia, we must have different niches – mass retailing as well as quality retailing,” he said.

    Lim further explained that quality retailing means offering a better grade of goods and services at value-for-money prices.

    “As consumers trade up, they will be looking for quality merchandises that commensurate with their income and status.

    “Apart from that, the country also has a plan to upgrade Malaysia to a first-world economy and as such, the retail services will figure prominently.

    “Based on all these assumptions, we are positive about the retail industry in Malaysia, despite current sentiments.

    On the outlook of the retail industry, Lim pointed out that the focus of decision-making had shifted from big stores to individual customers.

    Lim is positive about Malaysia‘s retail industry despite current sentiments about the economy.

    Lim is positive about Malaysia‘s retail industry despite current sentiments about the economy.

    “Gone are the days when store merchandises are laid out on the racks and customers will just walk in and purchase.

    “The thrust of retailing now has to be customer-relevant.

    “Millennials and internetters change their tastes very fast, and to serve this generation of shoppers, we have to intensively tweak our merchandise offerings on a weekly basis.

    “What will distinguish us as a quality retailer is by offering a personalised shopping service and rapid response to customers’ changing needs,” said Lim.

    With an investment of up to RM30mil each flagship store, the stores will be located within prominent commercial developments in capital cities of the country.

    “Each of these stores will have at least 18,581sq m (200,000sq ft) retail space and will be a representation of the local community.

    “To offer products and services catered to individual locations, the demographic profile of each vicinity will be studied within a 10km radius, not taking into account foreign visitors,” said Lim, adding that the interior and tenants of each store would also be based on needs of customers within the area.

    At present, there is only one Sogo KL Department Store nationwide, with a nett lettable space of about 65,032sq m (700,000sq ft).

    Now in its 23rd year of operation, Sogo Malaysia has continuously been developing talents and honing skills of employees through training and professional courses while investing on systems to build a strong back bone, leading to the preparation for expansion.

    Lim added that Malaysia was also an interesting place to visit for both foreign and local tourists.

    “We view the economic future optimistically due to the fact that the millennials and Internet generation also wants to feel living experiences.

    “Malaysia has the natural advantage of having different cultures in one locality along with amazing beaches, rainforests, caves and mountains,” concluded Lim.

     

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  • Marina Bay Sands’s Tod’s opens

    Marina Bay Sands’s Tod’s opens

    Italian luxury leather brand Tod’s Singapore has opened its second outlet, at The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands.

    Its new location features cool tones with silver and taupe leather-lined displays. It is the first store with the new concept in Asia, preceded only by a boutique in London.

    To mark the opening, the store features exclusive maroon editions of the Double T bag, Double T Gomminos and a men’s messenger bag, all marked discreetly with the location tag “Marina Bay Sands Singapore”.

    There is also a range of accessories including alphabet charms allowing for personalisation.

    The boutique is on the Galleria level.

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  • AllSaints Mexico makes its debut in Mexico City

    AllSaints Mexico makes its debut in Mexico City

    UK fashion retailer AllSaints has opened its first store in Mexico as it begins a Latin American expansion.

    The 2368 sqft AllSaints Mexico store has opened in Mexico City’s Antara shopping centre.  It stocks menswear and womenswear collections and lines from the autumn/winter 2016 range and Capital Collection handbags.

    Like stores elsewhere in the world, the AllSaints Mexico store features distinctive tailor-made fixtures and handcrafted industrial display units, and wall-mounted vintage sewing machines set against an LED backdrop.

    AllSaints chose Grupo Sordo Madaleno as its local partner, a company which operates fashion, toy and cosmetics franchises across 25 Mexican retail locations.

    AllSaints CEO William Kim, said expansion in Latin America has always been an integral part of the retailer’s growth strategy.

    “With over 50 years expertise in the Mexican retail sector, Group Sordo Madaleno was an obvious partnership choice for us. Not only does it excel in its existing market, it shares our passion for exceptional customer experience and bringing AllSaints’ contemporary designs and premium quality collections to fashion lovers in Mexico.”

    Late last year, AllSaints opened stores in Peru and Chile. It now has 220 directly operated stores, franchises, concessions and outlets in 23 countries including the UK, Europe, North America, Asia and the Middle East.

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  • When Xiaomi is dying for expansion

    When Xiaomi is dying for expansion

    Never mind smartphones – Chinese tech giant Xiaomi is now eyeing anything and everything as it broadens its investment portfolio.

    With the mobile handset market increasingly crowded globally, and offering diminishing returns, a new Xiaomi expansion strategy has been created: moving into new markets which offer growth potential.

    Co-founder Liu De has told Wired magazine he plans to extend the company’s business model of investing in companies and giving them access to its designers, marketing might and supply chain, to branch into other industries and different products. Xiaomi usually buys a 10 to 20 per cent stake in such companies, insisting on the rights to brand and market products made by these businesses.

    “We’re using our entire platform to lift these companies to the next level,” De told Wired.

    Four of the companies Xiaomi has invested in have already achieved market capitalisation greater than US$1 billion and the portfolio of companies have now collectively sold more than 50 million connected devices.

    The star product is the Mi Air Purifier, one of the most popular models in China.

    Xiaomi believes its investment approach will turn it into a so-called “Everything Company.”

    “It’s a unique model that I haven’t seen before and that I think is only viable for a company that comes from China,” Hugo Barra, the company’s outgoing global VP, said.

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  • SM Prime Holdings: four malls this year

    SM Prime Holdings: four malls this year

    Property giant SM Prime Holdings aims to open four shopping malls with a combined gross floor area of 292,000 sqm in the Philippines this year.

    SM Prime ended last year with 60 malls across the country, as well as six malls in China.

    President Jeffrey Lim says the company’s focus this year will be on shopping malls and residential space.

    SM Prime’s VP for investor relations, Alexander Pomento, says the malls to open this year are SM Tuguegarao (Cagayan Valley), SM Puerto Princesa (Palawan), Cherry SM Antipolo (Rizal) and SM Premier Cagayan de Oro. Their gross floor area would be 40,000 sqm for Tuguegarao, 70,000 sqm for Puerto Princesa, 30,000 sqm for Antipolo and 152,000 sqm for Cagayan de Oro.

    Pomento says that about 370,000 people are employed in SM Prime’s 60 shopping malls.

    Its latest shopping mall in the Philippines is the 80,000-sqm SM City East Ortigas, which targets customers in the eastern part of Metro Manila.

    In the first nine months of last year, SM Prime grew its consolidated net income by 13 per cent year-on-year to P17.5 billion, buoyed by higher shopping-mall, office and residential development plus hotel revenues.

    For the third quarter alone, SM Prime’s net profit rose by 15 per cent year-on-year to P4.9 billion, supported by a 14 per cent expansion in revenue to P18.5 billion.

    Philippine shopping mall revenue grew by 9 per cent year-on-year to P32.1 billion in the first nine months, while mall rental income expanded by 11 per cent to P26.9 billion.

    In the past two years the group has expanded its shopping mall GFA by 1 million sqm.

    Meanwhile, mall revenue from China rose by 5 per cent year-on-year to P3.1 billion in the first nine months while operating income grew by 6 per cent to P1.5 billion.

    SM has just opened its seventh mall for China in Tianjin.

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  • Indian fashion platform Fynd looks to SE Asia

    Indian fashion platform Fynd looks to SE Asia

    Indian fashion eCommerce platform Fynd plans to expand in Southeast Asia from April, which could include the Philippines.

    It also plans to expand beyond clothing, footwear and accessories to childrenswear, decor and furnishing.

    Fynd is run by Shopsense Technologies, which has among its investors Facebook executive Anand Chandrasekaran, Arvind Sports chief executive Rajiv Mehta and Snapdeal founders Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal. It offers same- or next-day delivery in 11 cities in India, and has tied up with about 250 brands. Its platform is both app- and webpage-based.

    This month Fynd deployed an omni-channel in-store product, Fynd Store, that lets customers browse all products of a particular brand on screens inside the brand’s physical outlet. If a customer cannot find a product or a size at that outlet, it can be ordered and delivered via Fynd Store.

    It is Fynd Store that the company plans to take to international markets.

    In-store initially

    Founded by Farooq Adam, Sreeraman MG and Harsh Shah, Fynd launched in 2012 as an in-store engagement provider, then branched out to an eCommerce platform before evolving into an omni-channel or online-to-offline retail firm.

    “This model would work in the international market, primarily in the areas where the customer is brand conscious and is clear he wants a particular product, whether it be size or colour,” says Shah.

    “Many times when customers shop and cannot find products in their size they settle for something that is one level lower in their liking hierarchy. Fynd is trying to solve this problem.”

    The company’s strategy for international markets will be the opposite of what it did in India — it will first deploy its omni-channel Fynd Store product before launching its eCommerce Fynd app.

    “In India we started with eCommerce then got into omni-channel. The reasoning was that with the retailer, sales is the holy grail. With eCommerce you can immediately show sales. With omni-channel you need to build it up – there’s the training in store and things like that.

    “Internationally we’ll start with Fynd Store because we need to develop delivery infrastructure and then get on to Fynd app,” says Shah.

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  • Poh Kong Holdings plans five more stores

    Poh Kong Holdings plans five more stores

    Malaysia’s largest jewellery retailer, Poh Kong Holdings, plans to spend up to RM25 million (US$5.6 million) to open five more stores in Malaysia this year.

    The company says two of the outlets will be in Johor, a state with an appetite for gold and gemset jewellery.

    Each outlet costs up to RM5 million to set up, including inventories, says Poh Kong business development manager Edison Choon.

    poh-kong-jewelry-store

    He declined to reveal the locations of the other three possible stores.

    By year end, he says, the company aims to have at least 100 stores (there are now 97 outlets, all in peninsular Malaysia).

    At the moment, 71 per cent of Poh Kong’s revenue is generated in the Klang Valley. Analysts say the company has 16 to 20 per cent share of Malaysia’s gold jewellery market, which is estimated to be worth RM5 billion.

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  • Old Chang Kee expansion to UK

    Old Chang Kee expansion to UK

    Singapore F&B chain Old Chang Kee is forming a JV in the UK so it can expand and build its brand there, primarily in London.

    With Singapore company 13 Wonders, which is mainly involved in the general wholesale trade and food retail, it is forming Old Chang Kee UK (OCK UK), which will be a direct subsidiary of Old Chang Kee. Its initial paid-up share capital of £500,000 (US$608,400) comprises 500,000 shares.

    Under the agreement, Old Chang Kee and 13 Wonders will hold 60 and 40 per cent respectively of the shareholding interest in OCK UK, which will run food retail outlets as well as manufacture, distribute and trade food products in the UK.

    Old Chang Kee started in 1956 in a stall in a coffee shop near the former Rex Cinema in Mackenzie Road, attracting people from all over Singapore with its curry puff. The brand was bought in 1986 by Han Keen Juan who evolved it into a fast-food chain with its own production factory. Old Chang Kee now markets its range of snack products, including its signature curry puffs, through kiosks and retail outlets at petrol stations and shopping malls.

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  • Trans Retail Indonesia eyes expansion

    Trans Retail Indonesia eyes expansion

    Grocery retailer Trans Retail Indonesia plans to open dozens of stores this year in a challenge to the online retail industry.

    This year it will open 30 stores under the Transmart Carrefour brand, says corporate communications GM Satria Hamid, without revealing costs.

    Trans Retail Indonesia, part of business tycoon Chairul Tanjung’s CT Corp, has decided to go head to head with the burgeoning eCommerce scene, reports The Jakarta Post.

    The retailer says it is determined to be more creative by way of promotional activities, intensive marketing and fresh products to lure customers to its stores.

    “We will refresh several stores with a new concept,” says Satria, citing a combination of retail and culinary experiences, and play areas for children.

    Trans Retail has 94 Carrefour stores nationwide, of which 15 stock the Transmart Carrefour brand. The house brand will be gradually rolled out to the other stores.

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  • Apple confirms plan to open its first ever retail store in Samsung’s home city of Seoul

    Apple confirms plan to open its first ever retail store in Samsung’s home city of Seoul

    Apple published a total of 15 retail job listings to its corporate website today seeking candidates for the Apple Store Leader Program, business managers, Genius Bar staff and marketing, among other positions.

    As expected, the job postings seek employees for an outlet in South Korea’s capital of Seoul. The city also happens to be the hometown of Apple ally and competitor, Samsung.

    “We’re excited about opening our first Apple Store in Korea, one of the world’s economic centers and a leader in telecommunication and technology, with a vibrant K-culture,” Apple said in a statement on Friday, local time. “We’re now hiring the team that will offer our customers in Seoul the service, education and entertainment that is loved by Apple customers around the world.”

    Apple has not officially stated where it plans to build its first Korean flagship, but it is claimed construction is already underway in a southern district of Seoul. That report, also filed on Friday, suggests work at the site will be completed in November. Previous rumors suggested Apple was looking at sites in Gangnam and the busy Garosu-gil shopping street.

    For Apple, a brick-and-mortar outlet in Seoul represents more than an opportunity to grow international sales. A retail presence in Samsung’s backyard could go a long way in winning mindshare in the South Korean market, which is currently served by third-party resellers and Apple’s online store.

  • Beijing flagship for Delvaux China

    Beijing flagship for Delvaux China

    Belgian handbag brand Delvaux China has opened a flagship store, in Taikoo Li shopping centre in Beijing’s Sanlitun district.

    Delvaux also has boutiques in Galeries Lafayette and the Yintai Center in the Chinese capital.

    Founded in 1829, the brand opened its first boutique in Hong Kong in 2014 after being acquired by Hong Kong investment group Fung Brands in 2011. It opened its first boutique in Hong Kong in 2014, followed the same year by its first Shanghai store, and a year later in Hangzhou and Beijing.

    delvaux-sanlitun-beijing-1

    When it broke into the China market, Delvaux CEO Marco Probst did not expect younger women to buy the bags.

    “Our Chinese clients were a big learning curve for us in the beginning,” he says. “We learned pretty quickly that you can have a 20-year-old girl buying a bag for $20,000, so the customer profile pretty much changed, putting the average age down to 25 to 30. Chinese clients are completely open and they learn so quickly.”

    delvaux-sanlitun-beijing-2

    Two floors

    Covering two floors, the boutique features an upstairs showroom with white walls and shelving plus white couches. For the launch, the showroom features red-leather bags to celebrate Chinese New Year.

    Probst says Delvaux hardly uses advertising campaigns, but gained a boost in interest when Korean actress Gianna Jun of the TV soap My Love from The Star was photographed carrying one of Delvaux’s Tempete bags.

    delvaux-sanlitun-beijing-3

    He says building up brand awareness in China has been achieved through “a slow, organic process” that relies mainly on word of mouth plus service that gives a feeling of exclusivity.

    Delvaux may close its Galeries Lafayette store and open one more in Shanghai and Chengdu for a total of six locations, then “that’s it”, says Probst, who is being careful about over-distributing the brand.

    Meanwhile, the new flagship features mainly classic pieces, as well as the new mostly gold end-of-year Poussiere d’Etoiles collection. Also available is a new sporty style bag, a nod to the athleisure trend in China.

  • First step in Taiwan for Ramen Iroha

    First step in Taiwan for Ramen Iroha

    Japanese restaurant chain Ramen Iroha has opened its first outlet in Taiwan.

    The Ramen Iroha Taiwan restaurant is a joint venture with local partner I-Mei Food which is sourcing ramen ingredients free from additives and chemical residues, and so appeal to health-conscious diners.

    Ramen Iroha, ranked number one in sales for three consecutive years in 2009, 2010 and 2011 at Tokyo Ramen Show, is gradually building a network of restaurants globally, with local partners. It recently opened in Hong Kong’s Causeway Bay.

    Signature dishes include ramen in black soy sauce and ramen with scallion and partially cooked eggs. One of the special features of its noodles is that the ramen is prepared in comparatively mild-flavour.

    The new Taiwan store is located on a street corner near Hsinchu Science Park at No 103 in Ziqiang South Road, Zhubei City, Hsinchu County.