Retail News CRM

Tag: Japan

  • Vietnamese good to be displayed at Japanese supermarket chain

    Vietnamese good to be displayed at Japanese supermarket chain

    A week for Vietnamese goods this year will be held at the Aeon supermarket chain in Saitama prefecture and Kanto region in Japan from June 5-12, according to organizers.

    During the week, Vietnamese goods will be highlighted at 40 outlets in the Aeon distribution system, along with many activities such as plant tours, product assessment, and consultations.

    Business-to-business contacts between Vietnam and Aeon importers, the introduction of Vietnamese products and capacity, popularisation of standards for imports, and agreement signing, along with food shows, tourism promotion, and art performances will be held within the framework of the week.

    After the week, enterprises will be supported to connect with Aeon so as to supply their products to the supermarket chain. AEON committed to raising Vietnam’s export turnover through the group’s system to US$500 million in 2020 and $1 billion in 2025, following a memorandum of understanding (MoU) inked between the Japanese group and the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

    In order to help Vietnamese businesses to join the AEON supply chain and become a supplier for the over 1,000 AEON supermarkets around the globe, the group has built a plan including a number of activities to increase the presence of made-in-Việt Nam goods, Yuichiro Shiotani, General Director of AEON Topvalu Vietnam, said at a recent conference in HCM City.

    AEON has also provided technical support to improve the production capability of Vietnamese suppliers and help them access Japanese customers, as well as boost the purchase of Vietnamese goods to sell at its stores in Japan and other countries, he said

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  • Vietnamese real estate market attracts Japanese firms

    Vietnamese real estate market attracts Japanese firms

    In an interview with correspondents from the Vietnam News Agency on the sidelines of the TMS Group’s investment promotion workshop in Osaka on April 9, Nakata said that it is not just Vietnam’s real estate market, but those in some Asian countries like Cambodia, Indonesia also have good prospects.

    However, he believed that Vietnam is the most attractive due to its safe and stable investment environment. According to Nakata, the real estate industry in Vietnam has been developing to become the number one investment channel.

    Kako Sasai, head of the business information division of the Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO), said foreign investment in Vietnam’s real estate could increase in the time ahead.

    She noted that Japan’s investment in Vietnam went up rapidly from 2016 to 2018. The number of Japanese firms investing in the Southeast Asian country has surged, resulting in the increasing demand for offices and houses.

    Most Japanese investors in Vietnam evaluated that the country has lots of potentials and brings stable profits, she said.

    The Vietnamese Government and enterprises have been focusing on attracting more overseas firms to invest in Vietnam beyond the field of real estate, she added.

    According to the latest survey of JETRO, Japan’s direct investment in Vietnam has increased in terms of the number of businesses and the amount of capital. As many as 70 percents of Japanese businesses plan to expand operations in Vietnam, while 88 percent expect their revenues in the market will increase in the future.

    Toru Tomita, director general at the Osaka-based O.M.NET cooperative business association, described Vietnam as a young nation with abundant labor supplies.

    In the future, more Japanese businesses will come to invest in Vietnam, he said.

    The investment promotion workshop in Osaka is part of activities of the TMS Group to introduce the investment environment in Vietnam and seek potential partners in real estate projects that the group is implementing in Vietnam.

    Vietnamese Consul General in Osaka Vu Tuan Hai affirmed that the Vietnamese Government will create an open and equal business environment for Japanese investors.

    The Vietnamese Consulate General will continue supporting and accompanying Japanese businesses in studying, preparing and implementing business investment plans in Vietnam, he said.

    TMS Group has been cooperating with Japanese partners over the past 15 years and it has been serving as a bridge to connect Vietnamese businesses with Japanese partners in the fields of their strengths such as real estate, human resources supply, education-training, trade, services, healthcare, and high-tech agriculture.

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  • Kyoto Ichinoden chooses Hong Kong

    Kyoto Ichinoden chooses Hong Kong

    Japanese restaurant chain Kyoto Ichinoden has opened its first overseas restaurant in Hong Kong.

    The launch celebrates the brand’s 100th anniversary while also tapping into the city’s unique role in the region and its close ties with the Mainland market for future expansion.

    Kyoto Ichinoden’s debut local restaurant has opened at Ocean Terminal, Harbour City, in Tsim Sha Tsui. It serves traditional Japanese cuisine including Kyoto kaiseki (multi-course dinner) and traditional Kyoto dish saikyozuke (seasonal meat or fish fillet pickled in Saikyo miso).

    “Hong Kong is a vibrant city situated in the heart of the region,” said Kyoto Ichinoden HK president Jumpei Tanaka.

    “Strategically, Hong Kong is our first choice for expansion because of its geographical and economic advantages. Moreover, there is a strong passion for Japanese food, so this gives Japanese restaurants a very good head start to set up a presence here. The city is also very strong in terms of logistics and transportation, ensuring efficient supplies of fresh ingredients – essential for the operation of high-grade Japanese restaurants like ours.

    “We expect that soon we may reach out to the Mainland market and other places in East Asia from Hong Kong, given that the city is close to the Mainland market and a major business hub in Asia.

    “As the Greater Bay Area (Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area) has become an important development and that Hong Kong plays a key role within it, having a first overseas base in Hong Kong will also help our brand build solid customer confidence and spread quickly to the Greater Bay Area in the near future.”

    InvestHK helped Kyoto Inchinoden launch in Hong Kong.

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  • Tricker’s Tokyo Opens British footwear brand’s first Store

    Tricker’s Tokyo Opens British footwear brand’s first Store

    British footwear brand Tricker’s has opened its first shop outside the UK, choosing Japan.

    Tricker’s Tokyo store opened last Thursday, an exact replica of its London Jermyn Street shop.

    “Japan has been our biggest export market for more than 30 years,” read a notice on the brand’s Twitter account. “This is a bold development for a small business such as ours.”

    The opening celebrates the heritage brand’s 190th anniversary. It is known for its quality heavy brogue shoes and boots, and counts Prince Charles among its patrons.

  • Klasse14 Store opens in Japan

    Klasse14 Store opens in Japan

    Timepiece maker Klasse14 has opened a flagship store in Shibuya, Tokyo.

    The new flagship joins the brand’s more than 350 points of sale in Tokyo, with a design representing the brand’s new minimalist, urbanised creative direction with black, white and wooden motifs.

    The brand has established markets throughout Asia, Australia, and the US via e-commerce sales and hundreds of points of sale and kiosks with its retail partners. Its momentum is largely driven by millennial fans spreading information about the brand online.

    Admirers of the brand are expecting a number of brand activation events to be held later this year.

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  • Sagara launches online Store Concept

    Sagara launches online Store Concept

    Tableware firm Sagara Inc has opened a global website after setting up a retail store in New York to market its environmentally conscious tableware for children.

    The firm’s Reale brand, made from a new bioplastic raw material blended with native Japanese bamboo, is being made available for the first time across North America, including the US and Canada.

    The company is scheduled to launch business-to-business and business-to-customer online sales in the territory next month, starting with sales through major department stores as well as retail outlets, online shops and other venues across North America dealing in baby and kid goods, interior products, gifts and other items.

    Sagara embarked on developing Reale in 2014 and started selling the tableware in Japan in November 2016. As of March this year, the brand is on sale in Taiwan, Mainland China and Australia.

    More than 20,000 Reale sets in total have been shipped up to this month. Its designs are inspired by traditional silverware in Europe and the US.

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  • FamilyMart Japan investing in New Labour Technology

    FamilyMart Japan investing in New Labour Technology

    Japanese convenience store FamilyMart Holdings is preparing to invest ¥25 billion (US$223 million) on labour-saving technologies.

    The firm will partner with tech firm Panasonic to introduce self check-out, digital displays and other similar devices which automate procedures traditionally undertaken by staff.

    The investment is intended to serve the brand’s franchisees who have been burdened with high labour costs in order to keep stores open around the clock.

    Both FamilyMart and its larger competitor 7-Eleven have felt pressured to let go of their 24-hour store policies in the face of a tightening labour market.

    They are also looking at other ways to ease the financial burden on franchisees.

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  • Mario Kart Tour beta registrations open for Android users

    Mario Kart Tour beta registrations open for Android users

    Nintendo plans to bring yet another game to Android and iOS device this summer – Mario Kart Tour. Officially revealed two months ago, the next Mario game for mobile won’t be released until at least June.

    However, Nintendo fans will have a chance to take a peek at what’s to come thanks to the closed beta program the Japanese company has just announced. Assuming you’re living in the United States or Japan, you can now register for the Mario Kart Tour closed beta on the game’s dedicated page.

    Unfortunately, it’s only Android users that are allowed to register for the closed beta, and there’s little chance the iPhone owners will be given the chance to test Mario Kart Tour before the official release.

    Obviously, the number of Android users who may participate in the closed beta is limited. According to Nintendo, if the number of applications exceeds the number of possible participants, the company will randomly select the participants.

    Android users can register for the closed beta between April 23 and May 7, while the beta test is scheduled for May 22-June 4, but these dates can be changed prior notice.

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  • SoftBank JV to invest $125m in Project Loon

    SoftBank JV to invest $125m in Project Loon

    Japan’s SoftBank has announced that its joint venture HAPSMobile will invest $125 million in Google’s Project Loon to advance the use of high-altitude vehicles to carry mobile base stations.

    HAPSMobile, the joint venture between SoftBank and US-based unmanned aerial vehicle systems company AeroVironment, was established in 2017 to conduct network equipment research and development for the high-altitude platform station (HAPS) business.

    Under the agreement with Google, Loon has been given the right to invest the same sum in HAPSMobile at a later date.

    The two companies have also agreed to actively explore commercial collaborations to accelerate the development of high altitude network connectivity solutions, such as the network of stratospheric balloons that Loon is trialling to deliver internet access to unserved areas of the world.

    Potential areas of collaboration being negotiated include enabling flight vehicles from each party to connect and share the same network connectivity in the air, as well as the establishment of a wholesale business that would allow HAPSMobile to utilize Loon’s vehicle and technology, and allow Loon to utilize HAPSMobile’s in-development unmanned aircraft.

    Other possibilities include a jointly developed communications payload that is adaptable to multiple flight vehicles, a common gateway or ground station that could be deployed globally and used by both companies to provide connectivity over their platforms, and adapting Loon’s fleet management system and temporospatial SDN for use by HAPSMobile.

    “Building a telecommunications network in the stratosphere, which has not been utilized by humankind so far, is uncharted territory and a major challenge for SoftBank,” SoftBank CTO Junichi Miyakawa said.

    “Working with Alphabet’s subsidiary Loon, I’m confident we can accelerate the path toward the realization of utilizing the stratosphere for global networks by pooling our technologies, insights and experience. Even in this current era of coming 5G services, we cannot ignore the reality that roughly half of the world’s population is without Internet access. Through HAPS, we aim to eliminate the digital divide and provide people around the world with the innovative network services that they need.”

    “We see joining forces as an opportunity to develop an entire industry, one which holds the promise to bring connectivity to parts of the world no one thought possible,” Loon CEO Alastair Westgarth added.

    “This is the beginning of a long-term relationship based on a shared vision for expanding connectivity to those who need it. We look forward to what the future holds.”

  • KDDI, Terra Drone launch drone asset inspection service

    KDDI, Terra Drone launch drone asset inspection service

    Japan’s KDDI and industrial drone solutions provider Terra Drone have jointly launched a new drone inspection services for industrial infrastructure.

    The jointly developed solution involves using a drone to generate a 3D, high resolution model of heavy industrial assets such as wind turbines, telecom and transmission steel towers, smokestacks, and bridges.

    The drone will use the model to determine which components should be inspected, allowing the drone to shoot the inspection points from optimal angles and range designated by the Terra Inspection software.

    It uses mobile networks to transmit data back to inspection crews and to allow operators to remotely plan flight paths based on weather databases and maps.

    The solution also has potential applications in areas beyond asset inspection, such as large area surveillance, land surveying or precision farming.

    KDDI and Terra Drone jointly developed the underlying Smart Drone platform, and have developed a number of solutions based on the platform since 2016.

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  • SoftBank may invest in Reliance Jio

    SoftBank may invest in Reliance Jio

    Japan’s SoftBank is reportedly in talks to invest up to $3 billion in fast-growing Indian operator Reliance Jio Infocomm.

    SoftBank’s Vision Fund is involved in due diligence on the prospect of the purchase of a stake in Jio  that could be worth $2 billion to $3 billion, unnamed sources told.

    The SoftBank Vision fund has raised $100 billion as part of plans to invest in fast-growing scalable technology companies with transformative potential. Former Deusche Bank executive Rajeev Misra has been appointed to lead the vision fund.

    Neither Softbank nor Jio would comment publicly for the report, so the potential for a deal remains unconfirmed for now.

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  • Softbank To Buy Wirecard Shares

    Softbank To Buy Wirecard Shares

    Japan’s Softbank Group will purchase a 5.6 percent stake in German payments company Wirecard by acquiring convertible bonds worth about 900 million euros ($1 billion), Wirecard said in a statement on Wednesday.

    «As global innovators, we focus heavily on expanding our networks and creating opportunities for companies with groundbreaking ideas. In SoftBank, we have found a partner that shares both our passion for new technologies and drive to spearhead the latest innovations, all on a global scale,» said Markus Braun, CEO at Wirecard.

    The two companies said they had also signed a memorandum of understanding for a strategic tie-up in providing digital solutions. SoftBank will help Wirecard expand into Japan and South Korea, and provide collaboration opportunities in digital payments, data-analytics/AI and innovative digital financial services within the Japanese firm’s portfolio companies

    As part of the deal, Wirecard said it shall issue convertible bonds with a term of five years exclusively to an affiliate of SoftBank, convertible to 6,923,076 million ordinary shares at 130 euros per Wirecard share. The issuance of the convertible bonds is subject to shareholders’ approval at its annual general meeting on June 18, Wirecard said.

    The investment comes amidst the payment firm’s ongoing defense against Financial Times newspaper reports this year saying staff at its Asian operations had inflated reported revenue.

    Last month, Wirecard said an outside law firm investigating the matter found the local staff at its Singapore office may have committed crimes, but these were not material to the German payment company’s financial position.

    Credit Suisse is serving as financial adviser to SoftBank and Sullivan & Cromwell LLP as legal adviser. Noerr LLP and Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP are serving as legal advisers to Wirecard.

  • Docomo, Itochu Logistics test IoT for delivery-fleet management in US

    Docomo, Itochu Logistics test IoT for delivery-fleet management in US

    Japan’s NTT Docomo and Itochu Logistics are planning to trial an IoT solution for delivery fleet management in the US.

    The solution uses devices compatible with low-power, wide-area LTE-M technology to track the status of outsourced trucks in their fleets.

    The trial will begin in the United States on May 1, 2019.

    According to the companies, the solution involves placing hand-held, battery- or solar-powered devices in trucks to collect data, such as truck locations and frequency of sudden braking, which will be sent through an LTE network to a dedicated website.

    The solution can also provide temperature, humidity, brightness, etc. data depending on delivery needs, as well as notify customers via email when the trucks approach their destinations.Itochu Logistics USA expects to save time using the solution compared to the conventional method of manually phoning drivers to confirm their locations and estimated delivery times.

    The solution will be tested for its effectiveness in supporting the management and safety of truck fleets at Itochu Logistics USA’s delivery-trick network and logistics system.

    “While most delivery trucks are equipped with GPS devices, the location data typically is available to the owner but not to logistics/transport companies that retain the trucks on an outsourced basis,” the companies said.

    “The solution’s easily deployed LTE-M devices, however, will give logistics/transport companies dedicated access to location and other useful information about trucks operating temporarily in their fleets.”

    The trial is part of the Globiot global-IoT initiative that Docomo launched on July 2, 2018.

    The Japanese mobile giant said it expects the solution will be marketed widely throughout US, Japan, and Asia.

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  • Ebay Buying in India’s Paytm Mall

    Ebay Buying in India’s Paytm Mall

    International e-commerce platform Ebay is preparing to head a US$160–170 million investment in e-tailer Paytm Mall.

    In a report last Monday, the move was interpreted as a grab at O2O commerce and payments opportunities in India. It will be the third major e-commerce investment in the territory for the firm following its minors stakes in Flipkart and Snapdeal.

    Paytm Mall raised about US$215 million from Japan’s SoftBank and existing investor Alibaba mid last year, at a valuation of $1.6–2 billion. It has raised roughly $645 million in funding to date.

    The firm has a minority segment of the Indian market, which is largely dominated by its two biggest competitors Amazon and Flipkart.

  • Toyota Establishes Research Institute In China To Study Hydrogen

    Toyota Establishes Research Institute In China To Study Hydrogen

    Japan’s Toyota Motor said on Sunday it was setting up a research institute in Beijing in partnership with Tsinghua University to study car technology using hydrogen power and other green technologies that could ease environmental problems in China. The initiative, outlined by Toyota’s President and Chief Executive Akio Toyoda in a speech at Tsinghua University, is part of the Japanese carmaker’s efforts to share more technology with China as it seeks to expand its business in the country by beefing up manufacturing capacity and distribution channels, a source close to Toyota said.

    The Tsinghua-Toyota Joint Research Institute will conduct research into cars and new technology to solve environmental problems in China, including reducing traffic accidents, Toyota said in a statement.The institute will “cooperate in research not only related to cars for Chinese consumers, but also in research related to active utilization of hydrogen energy that can help solve China’s energy problems,” the company said.

    The move dovetails with Toyota’s announcement this month that it would offer carmakers and suppliers around the world free access to nearly 24,000 patents for electric vehicle technologies.

    Executive Vice President Shigeki Terashi told Reuters earlier this month that the automaker intended to become a tier 2 supplier of hybrid systems and that it had already received enquiries from more than 50 companies.

    Later on Monday, Toyota said that it had started to supply fuel cell vehicle parts to Chinese commercial vehicle maker Foton and SinoHytec, without giving financial details of the deal. The company said in a statement that it hopes to cooperate with more companies in China to promote fuel cell vehicle penetration in China.