Retail News CRM

Tag: kitchenware

  • Muji Singapore opens Large store at The Jewel

    Muji Singapore opens Large store at The Jewel

    Muji Singapore has opened a two-storey store at Jewel Changi. The 12th outlet of the popular Japanese minimalist brand houses more than 4000 products and an 88-seat Cafe&Meal dining area.

    The product range includes apparel, furniture, kitchenware, toiletries, stationery and food items.

    Designed by Tokyo-based design company Super Potato, the store also offers the largest range of Muji’s fitness line, the Walker series.

    The store also features an interior-advisory service, available to recommend customisable solutions to customers.

    Muji Singapore chose Jewel Changi as its newest location to showcase the ‘world of Muji’ to Southeast Asian customers.

    Naoki Kadoike, MD at Muji Singapore and Malaysia, expects about 40 per cent of customers will be tourists, the remainder locals.

    “When I was posted here in January, I realised how similar Singaporeans are to the Japanese. People are very conscious of having a good lifestyle and there is a common understanding of Muji’s philosophy,” Kadoike said.

    Meanwhile, Muji Singapore plans to introduce the Muji Passport app, providing local customers with information about the brand and promotions, along with weekly newsletters.

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  • Kitchenware firm thrives by cooking up new ideas

    Kitchenware firm thrives by cooking up new ideas

    There is often something new on the menu at kitchenware retailer ToTT. Since opening its first outlet in 2010, the firm has branched out into e-commerce, cooking lessons and even customised kitchenware.

    Re-invention has always been at the heart of the company’s ethos, said ToTT director Grace Tan.

    Her grandfather founded ToTT’s parent company Sia Huat, which started in 1959 in Temple Street selling kitchenware to industrial kitchens, restaurants and chefs. The company noticed a gap in the market for household kitchenware products, and ToTT – which stands for Tools of the Trade – was born.

    The retail chain now has two stores here and remains a family business – Ms Tan’s father, Mr Tan Choon Boon, is Sia Huat’s chief executive.

    Both of ToTT’s outlets integrate shopping with in-store kitchens where classes and cooking demonstrations are conducted.

    The company also set up a bistro at its Dunearn outlet to complement the culinary retail experience.

    These additions contribute about 20 per cent of overall revenue, Ms Tan, 38, said, with kitchenware retail still making up the bulk of sales at 80 per cent.

    ToTT also launched an online store in 2013.

    “These measures attract the attention of consumers and keep them consistently engaged in the shopping experience,” said Ms Tan.

    The retailer, which employs around 60 people, noted that sales held steady last year despite sluggish economic conditions.

    Ms Tan acknowledged that competition in the retail industry is fierce, but added that a focus on quality is ToTT’s best bet for the future.

    “While sites such as Taobao may offer cheaper deals, their products do not come with any form of quality assurance,” she said. “ToTT allows customers to try out various products before purchasing them. We set high expectations for product and service quality.”

  • Ikea introduces line of kitchenware in Korea

    Ikea introduces line of kitchenware in Korea

    Swedish home furnishing company Ikea is launching kitchen products for the first time in Korea.

    “We have 700 articles in the cooking and eating area, completely new for the Korean market,” Andre Schmidtgall, country retail manager at Ikea Korea, said Thursday during a press briefing at the Times Square shopping mall in Yeongdeungpo District, southwestern Seoul.

    Although Ikea entered the Korean market in 2014, sales of kitchenware such as dishes and cups from the Swedish home decor maker were not permitted due to legal restrictions related to product labeling. After the Korea Food and Drug Administration eased up on the restrictions this year, the company was able to bring in the full set of its items to Korea.

    Ikea’s store in Gwangmyeong, Gyeonggi, includes a 1,000-square-meter (10, 764 square foot) space devoted to kitchen products and began sales on Sept. 9. The new promotional campaign for the product line begins next Tuesday and runs through Nov. 12 at Times Square. The mall will include a venue set up with an Ikea kitchen and allow visitors to cook food there.

    Even as the company rolls out its new products here, Ikea is still working on cleaning up its stained image in Korea after delaying a recall of drawer chests that killed several children after tipping over.

    “We have tested drawer chest products and suspended another 15 models a day before yesterday,” Schmidtgall said.

    The company already halted sales of 15 drawers including the MALM drawer on Sept. 9, following recall orders from the Korean Agency for Technology and Standards under the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

    “We put safety and security as the utmost priority,” Schmidtgall said. “Tipping risk is an industry-wide problem.”

    According to Ikea, particular models of its drawer chests are banned from sale only in three countries – the United States, Canada and Korea – and in other markets, the article is sold with recommendations that the drawer be anchored to the wall for safety.

    Ikea Korea in the latest financial year from Sept. 2015 to Aug. 2016 recorded 345 billion won ($309.4 million) in revenue. From January to August 2016 compared to the same period last year, revenue rose 17 percent.

    The company is working on a second Korea branch in Goyang, Gyeonggi, set to open by the latter half of next year. It plans to build up to six stores in Korea by 2020. Likely locations include the Seoul metropolitan area, Daejeon and Chungcheong in the country’s central region, and Busan in the southern region.

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