Retail News CRM

Tag: Intime

  • Alibaba Revamping Ladies’ Rooms To Make Waiting More Fun

    Alibaba Revamping Ladies’ Rooms To Make Waiting More Fun

    Alibaba’s Tmall and shopping centre operator Intime have partnered to create a New Retail-driven model for restrooms.

    Last week, the two unveiled the first “Smart Ladies’ Room” at the West Lake Intime Shopping Mall in Hangzhou City. It’s the latest extension of New Retail by Tmall and Intime, after they last month showed off a smart nursing room for mothers shopping at malls.

    Consumers waiting in line can make use of technologies like a pair of ‘magic mirrors’, an augmented-reality-powered digital screen that lets shoppers virtually try on and purchase cosmetics, including a wide array of lipstick, blush, eyeliners and eyeshadow, and a vending machine offering beauty and feminine products from nearly 10 brands, including Shu Uemera, Lancome, Elizabeth Arden and Benefit, to lighten the load for ladies out shopping. All products can be purchased for RMB 0.01 each through the Alipay mobile wallet.

    The Smart Ladies’ Room at West Lake Intime Shopping Mall is already open to the public, while one at Hangzhou’s Wulin Intime is under construction. The company said its next steps involves reworking more restrooms at tourism sites, shopping malls and hotels.

    Alibaba’s plans to expand the model to more public restrooms coincides with China’s continued push for a “toilet revolution,” a national drive to improve sanitation and build more clean restrooms across the country.

    China intends to build or renovate 64,000 toilets at tourist sites between 2018 and 2020, by the end of which the country aims to raise tourism revenue to RMB 7 trillion – up from RMB 3.9 trillion in 2016, according to the Xinhua News Agency.

    Relate

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

  • Alibaba, Auchan, Sun Art partnership goal in China market

    Alibaba, Auchan, Sun Art partnership goal in China market

    A new Alibaba, Auchan, Sun Art partnership will further strengthen Alibaba’s efforts to integrate online and offline, say analysts.

    China’s Alibaba Group Holding, France’s Auchan Retail and Taiwan’s Ruentex Group have formed a strategic alliance to bring together their online and offline expertise to explore opportunities in China’s food-retail sector.

    As part of the deal, Alibaba is investing HK$22.4 billion (US$2.8 billion) to obtain an aggregate direct and indirect stake of 36.16 per cent in Chinese food retailer Sun Art Retail Group by acquiring shares from Ruentex.

    Auchan Retail is also increasing its stake in Sun Art, with the transaction giving it, Alibaba and Ruentex about 36.18, 36.16 and 4.67 per cent economic interest respectively in the multi-format offline food retailer.

    Sun Art had a total gross floor area of about 12 million sqm in China at June 30. It has 446 hypermarkets as large as 17,000sqm across China under the Auchan and RT-Mart banners. It also has superstores and unmanned stores under the Auchan Minute brand.

    Alibaba says the alliance reflects its “new retail” concept, while Auchan Retail says it aligns with its “Auchan changes lives” vision.

    Alibaba Group CEO Daniel Zhang says the move aims to redefine traditional retail through digital transformation. “Physical stores serve an indispensable role in the consumer journey, and should be enhanced through data-driven technology and personalised services in the digital economy.”

    ‘Positive impact’

    “Bringing together the leaders of instore retail and of online retail will allow us to offer hundreds of millions of Chinese consumers a fully integrated, world-class shopping experience,” says CEO Wilhelm Hubner of Auchan Retail, which has a presence in 17 countries with 3715 points of sale.

    “Consumer demands have changed tremendously with the rapid growth of the mobile internet, and Sun Art is also trying to move from offline to online,” says Ruentex Group vice-chairman Peter Huang.

    “I think this deal will have a positive impact for all involved,” says OC&C Strategy Consultants associate partner Veronica Wang.

    “It will further strengthen Alibaba’s efforts to integrate online and offline,” says Wang. “Alibaba has been quite aggressive in investing offline in the past two to three years with its continuous investments in the likes of retailer Suning and mall company Intime, as well as its own launch of Hema supermarkets.”

    She says the alliance could help Sun Art build digital capabilities, with the company trying to tap into e-commerce and build an O2O business since 2014, but with limited success. “Feiniu.com was the first attempt, which is still losing money after three years, and Sun Art launched cashier-free self-service convenience stores this year which are still in the stage of trial and error.”

    OC&C associate partner Steven Kwok says the move is no surprise “especially when retailers in general are finding that grocery retailing, unlike other categories thus far, has encountered greater barriers to the shift online”.

    He says Sun Art’s reach across China not only gives Alibaba an enhanced distribution network, but also serves as a testing ground for digital initiatives.

  • Alibaba moves to privatise Intime Retail Group

    Alibaba moves to privatise Intime Retail Group

    Alibaba has announced a proposal to privatise the Intime Retail Group, an investment-holding company that manages department stores and shopping malls in China.

    Alibaba Investment, a wholly owned subsidiary of Alibaba Group Holding, together with an entity wholly owned by Shen Guo Jun, the founder of Intime Retail, have asked the board of directors of Intime to put forward to shareholders a proposal to privatise the company by way of a scheme of arrangement.

    Under the proposal, shares in Intime would be cancelled in exchange for a payment by the joint offerors at HK$10 (US$1.29) a share, representing a premium of about 53.59 per cent over the average closing price of Intime shares over the past 60 days, and 42.25 per cent over the closing price of HK$7.03 before trading was suspended on December 28.

    Intime runs 29 department stores and 17 shopping malls, mainly in first- and second-tier cities in China. It has a particularly strong footprint in Zhejiang province, where Alibaba Group is headquartered. Alibaba owns about 28 per cent of the equity interests in Intime pursuant to an initial investment in July 2014 and a conversion into equity of convertible debt securities in June last.

    Under the proposed transaction, Alibaba would become the controlling shareholder of Intime, and it is expected its shareholding in the company would increase to about 74 per cent. This reflects Alibaba Group’s strategy to transform conventional retail by leveraging its substantial consumer reach, rich data and technology.

    Dynamic shift

    The dynamic shift to mobile in China has enabled Alibaba Group to work with brick-and-mortar retailers to integrate online and offline customer data, enhance consumers’ in-store experiences as well as achieve improvements in inventory efficiency and sales turnover.

    As of the quarter ended September, 78 per cent of the gross merchandise volume on Alibaba Group’s China retail marketplaces was generated from mobile, and monthly active mobile users reached 450 million in September.

    “China’s total retail sector is a US$4.5 trillion economy and is growing at 10.7 per cent a year,” says Alibaba Group CEO Daniel Zhang. “Alibaba is working with offline retailers to transform conventional approach, create new consumer shopping experiences and use actions to embrace future opportunities under the new retail model.

    “We don’t divide the world into real or virtual economies, only the old and the new. Those who cling on to the old ways of retailing will be disrupted, and brick-and-mortar businesses will be able to create value for consumers if they are integrated with the power of mobile reach, real-time consumer insights, and technology capability to improve operating efficiency. Our combination with Intime will enable us to tap into the long-term growth potential of a new form of retail in China powered by internet technology and data.”

    Alibaba says the maximum amount of cash needed for the Intime proposal is expected to be about HK$19.8 billion. The two companies are financing the transaction through internal cash resources and/or external debt financing.

    The proposed transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including approval from Intime’s independent shareholders and the sanction of the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands where the company is registered.

    Lees ook:

  • Boom quarter for Alibaba Group

    Boom quarter for Alibaba Group

    While China’s economy goes through a sluggish patch, internet shopping mall giant Alibaba Group has announced a sparkling quarter in which profit beat expectations, its fledgling cloud computing business more than doubled sales, and its entertainment income quadrupled.

    “Our results reflect our increasing ability to monetise our 450 million mobile users through new and innovative social commerce experiences,” says CEO Daniel Zhang.

    “Beyond the strong performance of our core commerce business, we are pleased with the continued rapid growth of our cloud computing business. We also see huge potential in our newly integrated digital media and entertainment unit. By combining engaging online experiences with highly relevant content, we delivered impressive financial and operational results for the quarter. ”

    CFO Maggie Wu says the group had robust revenue growth of 55 per for the quarter ended September 30.

    “Our highly profitable and cashflow-generative core commerce business enables us to invest in our future growth areas of cloud computing, digital media, and entertainment and innovation initiatives. We expect each of these businesses to drive long-term value for both our customers and shareholders.”

    At RMB34.292 billion (US$5.142 billion), revenue increased 55 per cent year-over-year, the star sector being digital media and entertainment, which ballooned 302 per cent to RMB3.608 billion. There was also an impressive 130 per cent growth in revenue from cloud computing to RMB1.493 billion, while revenue from innovation and other sources grew 78 per cent to  RMB698 million, and revenue from core commerce rose 41 per cent to RMB28.493 billion.

    Up 23 million

    Mobile monthly active users (MAUs) on its China retail marketplaces reached 450 million in September, an increase of 23 million over June, while annual active buyers reached 439 million, an increase of 5 million from the 12-month period ended in June.

    Customers for its cloud computing business grew to 651,000 from 577,000 in the previous quarter. The operating loss from cloud computing was RMB398 million for the quarter, and adjusted EBITA loss narrowed from RMB158 million in the previous quarter to RMB57 million.

    Alibaba says its Taobao app continues to be the leading social-commerce platform, serving creative content, social-engagement opportunities and personalised shopping recommendations. Livestreamed demonstrations for fashion apparel, cosmetics, maternity/baby products, sports and activewear generated millions of daily views.

    The company says it also achieved high social engagement on the mobile Taobao platform, citing more than 6 million app users sharing their shopping experience with friends each day.

    “We continue to see strength in the consumer electronics category, with robust growth in smartphones and large appliances,” says Alibaba. “In September, Apple recognised our branding reach and distribution capability by appointing Tmall the third-party online platform for the simultaneous launch of the iPhone 7 with Apple in China.”

    In the large appliance category, Alibaba is continuing to work with Haier’s logistics subsidiary RRS, with orders from its marketplaces handled by RRS growing by more than 82 per cent for the quarter.

    Triple digits

    Alibaba has also continued to make strong progress in the FMCG category, with personal care, food, and mother and baby being among the top growth categories. Its Tmall Supermarket has seen its volumes grow by triple digits year-on-year.

    “Multinational FMCG brands are working with us as the partner of choice, not only to drive their transaction volume, but also in the areas of brand building, channel expansion and product launches to grow their presence in China.”

    During the year Alibaba launched innovations around livestreaming, AR and VR to drive consumer engagement. Examples include a livestreamed “See now, buy now” fashion show watched by 7 million viewers on Taobao, Tmall and the Tudou and Youku apps. Alibaba also integrated the omni-channel shopping experience at more than 60,000 offline storefronts, including Gap, Uniqlo and Intime department store.

    A pilot program has been introduced to help global merchants sell beyond China. Hong Kong and Taiwan are the first markets outside the mainland.

    Alibaba Cloud hosts and provides security products and services for more than 35 per cent of China’s websites, says the company.

  • Multi-brand boutique Project X launches

    Multi-brand boutique Project X launches

    Project X, a multi-brand boutique that caters to young creative minds, has launched at Plaza Indonesia in Jakarta.

    From Time International, Project X offers a new take on men’s and unisex casual fashion and lifestyle. Its curated retail concept introduces 22 international brands and includes innovative designs in apparel, bags, shoes and accessories such as sunglasses and watches.

    project-x

     

    From Australia, Japan, South Korea and the US, the products are displayed in fun and creative surroundings, including a dessert stall, Sweet Monster, which features popcorn soft ice cream.

    The store has a palette of white and grey with wooden accents.

    “People like to shop and discover edgy pieces, and they like to hang out. It is a lifestyle,” says Time International president director/CEO Irwan Danny Mussry. “We see an opportunity here.”

    A second Project X is planned for Pondok Indah Mall 2.

    Featured brands at the boutique are Andersson Bell (South Korea), Beyond Closet (South Korea), Blankof (South Korea), BLC & BLC Gray (South Korea), Buddy Happy (Japan), Kapten & Son (Australia), Kiruna (Japan), Lapiz+ (South Korea), Luccica (South Korea), Mascolanza (South Korea), Miel Homme (South Korea), Monofold (South Korea), National Publicity (South Korea), PKG (Canada), Rawrow (South Korea), Riokairyu (South Korea), Salad Bowls (South Korea), Supercomma B (South Korea), Thank You Studios (South Korea), Thread Etiquette (US) and Ul: Kin (South Korea), United by Blue (US).

    Founded in the 1960s, Time International manages and runs both multi-brand retail stores – including @Time, InTime, The Time Place and Urban Icon – as well as mono-brand boutiques for such brands as Cartier, Chanel, Chopard, Diesel, Fendi, Fossil, Liebeskind, Poney, Rolex, Tag Heuer and Tory Burch.

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook: