Retail News CRM

Tag: Korea

  • Nestle Korea introducing Kit Kat flagship store

    Nestle Korea introducing Kit Kat flagship store

    Chocolate wafer snack Kit Kat is to have a flagship store in Seoul, being launched by Nestle Japan in co-operation with Nestle Korea.

    The Swedish snack company’s Japanese branch is known for its exclusive “chocolatory”, which offers special flavours and desserts. Flavours previously exclusive to the Tokyo store will be available at the store set to open in Shinsegae Department Store’s Gangnam location.

    Nestle Japan’s Premium Kit Kat is one of the most popular souvenirs Koreans buy when visiting Japan. The exclusive flavours, launched in co-operation with pastry chef Yasumasa Takagi, borrow from local specialties such as Kyoto’s matcha green tea and Hokkaido’s melon.

    In Korea, only the original milk and dark chocolate flavours are available. The Seoul flagship store, which opens next Thursday, will not only expand on this but also offer signature desserts.

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  • ZTE profit grew 36.6% in 9M17

    ZTE profit grew 36.6% in 9M17

    ZTE has revealed it expects to report a solid 36.6% growth in net profit for the first nine months of 2017, with its results bolstered by growth in its carrier networks and consumer businesses.

    The Chinese vendor has published preliminary results [PDF] estimating a net profit for the nine month period of 3.9 billion yuan ($589.1 million).

    Operating revenue grew an estimated 7% over the same period to 76.58 billion yuan, while operating profit surged 455.1% to 5.28 billion yuan. Gross profit margins are expected to have been stable at 31.64%.

    The bottom line was also aided by pre-tax investment income of around 426 million yuan related to the sale of 10.1% of mobile phone subsidiary Nubia Technology, as well as 1.75 billion yuan in investment income from its remaining 49.9% stake in the venture.

    For the full year, ZTE is anticipating a net profit of between 4.3 billion and 4.8 billion. This would be a significant turnaround from the 23.57 billion yuan loss recorded in 2016, which was the result of a $892.3 million settlement agreement  with the US government.

    ZTE paid the penalty to settle an investigation over allegations that the company shipped telecoms equipment containing US components to Iran, in contravention of US trade sanctions on the nation.

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  • Star Telecom expands retail to underserved markets

    Star Telecom expands retail to underserved markets

    Filipino tech company Star Telecom Alliance Resources, the group behind Starmobile, is expanding its retail distribution to include sari-sari stores and loading stations.

    For its initial phase, just launched, Starmobile feature phones have been made available in more than 20 sari-sari stores and loading stations in Metro Manila, Cagayan De Oro and Zamboanga. This business strategy extends the company’s sales touchpoints beyond branded stores and kiosks, multi-brand vendors, its own online shop, partner e-commerce websites, and even convenience stores.

    With more than a million sari-sari stores in neighborhoods all over the Philippines, the move will enable the company to penetrate underserved markets, especially in the provinces. It also aligns with Starmobile’s objective of democratizing technology, says sales and marketing head Gerardo Balderrama.

    Prizes are being offered for customers as part of the company’s STAR-Tagal campaign.

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  • FedEx to double size of air cargo facilities at Incheon airport

    FedEx to double size of air cargo facilities at Incheon airport

    FedEx Express has revealed it will double the size of its air cargo handling facility at Incheon International Airport as it looks to cater for rising volumes in South Korea.

    Establishing a new cargo facility at Incheon International Airport is a strategic move for FedEx — the airport has seen the volume of international shipments increase by 10.4% in 2016 from 2012 to 2.7m tons.

    When it is completed in 2021, the express giant’s FedEx Cargo Terminal will cover an area of 23,425sq m, more than twice the size of its existing facility.

    The terminal will feature warehouse, office and a canopy space and will offer an automated cargo sorting system to meet the fast-growing demand of express cargo.

    Once completed the new facility will have the capacity to sort up to 18,000 packages per hour.

    ”As one of the largest economies in Asia, Korea continues to build its trade connections internationally. FedEx is investing to support the robust demand in Korean imports and exports to better serve our customers in this important market.” said Eun-Mi Chae, managing director, FedEx Express Korea.

    “With the expansion of our FedEx facility at Korea’s main gateway, we will improve our operational capabilities and create greater access to the global market supported through our integrated network.”

    The express firm signed an agreement with Incheon International Airport Corporation to confirm the construction of the terminal last week.

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  • Acne Studios launching 48-hour online pop-up

    Acne Studios launching 48-hour online pop-up

    Swedish fashion brand Acne Studios is about to launch a 48-hour online pop-up store offering a handpicked selection of its classic style, show pieces and exclusive items.

    Discounts of up to 75 per cent are being offered during the retrospective, which launches on October 24 “exclusive” to Hong Kong, India, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand.

    Based in Stockholm, Acne Studios is a multidisciplinary luxury fashion house, founded in 1996 as part of the creative collective Acne, an acronym for Associated Computer Nerd Enterprises but later changed to Ambition to Create Novel Expressions. The fashion house specialises in men’s and women’s ready-to-wear fashion, footwear, accessories and denim.

  • AirAsia X eyes expansion in China, Japan and South Korea

    AirAsia X eyes expansion in China, Japan and South Korea

    AirAsia X considers North Asia, namely, China, Japan, and South Korea, as its new market for growth, said AirAsia. Due to the scarcity of resources, the long haul budget airline will also be rationalising its routes by reallocating some of the current Australian capacity to its other destinations next year.

    “We have to be very selective of our routes, seeing that our aircraft is limited and we will only get more aircraft next year.

    “Demand is starting to pick up from Thailand and Indonesia, and we believe that the next market of growth will be in North Asia. Kamarudin was speaking after the launch of AirAsia X’s launch of four times weekly direct flights from Kuala Lumpur to Jeju, South Korea.

    AirAsia X CEO Benyamin Ismail targets to achieve a passenger load factor of 80% in 12 months’ time, for the Kuala Lumpur-Jeju route.

    AirAsia is the only airline to operate direct flights to Jeju, from Kuala Lumpur, connecting the island with Malaysia, the rest of Asia, and beyond.

    “South Korea is an important market and we have seen tremendous growth from our existing routes to Seoul and Busan, which will now be complemented by our new service to Jeju, saving our guests the hassle of domestic transit to the island province.

    “This new route will provide additional annual capacity of over 150,000 and will be a significant boost to strengthen business and tourism ties between Malaysia and South Korea,” said Benyamin.

    He added that Malaysia was the second largest tourist market in South Korea, after China.

    An estimated two million passengers travel between South Korea and Malaysia each year.

    The group has plans to increase flight frequencies to Seoul from 14 times weekly to 18 times weekly, beginning December.

    Meanwhile, AirAsia X flight frequencies to Busan shall also be increased from four times a day to five times a day, beginning November.

    The Kuala Lumpur-Jeju route shall commence on December 12, 2017, with promotional all-in fares from RM199 one-way.

    The special promo of all-in fares from RM199 one way on standard seat and RM899 one-way on award winning Premium Flatbed will run from October 10 to October 15, for travel between December 12, 2017 and March 25, 2018, available for booking on airasia.com.

    Jeju Island, also known as the “island of the gods”, is a beautiful volcanic island located 64 kilometres south of the Korean peninsular.

    It is the country’s most popular holiday island, with more than 70% of visitors being domestic travellers seeking out what has become known as the “Hawaii of South Korea”.

  • South Korean shoppers set new mobile spending record

    South Korean shoppers set new mobile spending record

    South Korean shoppers set a new record for the volume of purchases made through mobile devices during September.

    Government data says mobile transactions through smartphones and tablets reached a new high of 4.04 trillion won (US$3.5 billion) in August, up 29.5 per cent from a year earlier.  Statistics Korea says the trend is being fuelled by the growing amount of time consumers are spending on their handsets.

    Mobile transactions accounted for 61.9 per cent of all online purchases made during the month.

    Shopping by mobile phone in South Korea has been on a steep rise for years as smart devices are widening their presence in the world’s most-wired country. They are rapidly replacing computers as a means of conducting online transactions.

    Mobile bookings for travel and movie tickets surged 35.5 per cent in August from a year earlier to a record 755.8 billion won in the summer vacation season, while South Korean shoppers spent 344.8 billion won on cosmetics during the month, up 20.7 per cent.

    Food delivery services increased 38.2 per cent year-on-year to 610.3 billion won last month, while 381 billion won worth of electronic goods was sold through smartphones, up 18.3 per cent from a year earlier.

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  • SaladStop! heading for Korea

    SaladStop! heading for Korea

    Established eight years ago, Singapore food brand SaladStop! is about to launch into Korea.

    It opens in Seoul next month, about the same time as its first non-Asia location, in Barcelona. The brand has 19 outlets across Singapore, 12 in the Philippines, three in Jakarta and four in Tokyo.

    Co-founded by Adrien Desbaillets and his father Daniel, SaladStop! Is still a family affair. At 36, Adrienne is president while Daniel, 67, is director and chairman. Daniel’s sister Katherine handles marketing while her Paris-born husband Frantz Braha is business development manager, spearheading overseas franchising.

    The Desbaillets are Swiss citizens who put down roots in Singapore 22 years ago. Daniel was previously a hotel executive. When Adrien returned to Singapore after working in China for a hotel investment company, he planned a chain of nutrition-conscious quick-service restaurants.

    However, the says affordable, wholesome and nutritious were three options rarely found together in one meal, and he guessed that expats like himself were “craving a good salad”.

    Father and son opened their first store in Marina Square, working with corporate chef Tony Tan.

    All overseas locations have more or less the same core combos, but franchise holders modify them to suit local preferences.

    In Singapore, the next stage of growth is a mobile app.

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  • Amazon Global Selling to take Korean products everywhere

    Amazon Global Selling to take Korean products everywhere

    Amazon has revealed plans to help South Korean sellers make international sales via its Amazon Global Selling program.

    Amazon laid out its plans during its first press conference in South Korea dubbed the ‘Global Selling Conference’, which was held at COEX this week. The international shopping giant discussed its global selling service, ‘Amazon Global Selling,’ which allows sellers to sell items to other countries without the help of a customer service center or local distribution centre.

    According to the company, using its global selling platform can enable South Korean sellers to reach up to 300 million people in 185 countries across the world. Amazon Global Selling not only provides sellers with access to the international market but also provides help in dealing with common problems such as refunds, returns, and issues surrounding international delivery.

    Using Fulfillment by Amazon, a one-stop order processing service, sellers can use the distribution center owned by the shopping giant from which the rest of the selling process will be handled by Amazon.

    “Though domestic online sales are common, international online sales are still at an early stage in South Korea. We plan to actively help South Korean companies maximise their sales during the most eventful days of the year such as Black Friday, Cyber Monday and the Christmas season,” a company spokesperson said.

    Amazon Global Selling was first launched in 2015, and now the international company is set to begin the Korean language service of its portal ‘Seller Central’, as well as providing education programs for South Korean sellers.

    During the press conference, which was held in the presence of more than 1000 officials ranging from business partners and government officials to people interested in working with Amazon, Cindy Tai, the head of Amazon Global Selling-Asia, explained the conference was held two years after the global selling service was launched in the country, as an active community has been built only recently.

    Amazon’s move to help South Korean online sellers is set to see competition intensify in the online sales market, as similar services are already being operated by the likes of GMarket and 11street.

    With the growing number of people who wish to sell their products online in the international market in South Korea, some industry sources believe Amazon’s decision to introduce localised support programs for online sales is part of their effort to boost their competitiveness by training online businesses with potential and encouraging them to use their platform.

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  • Ookonn landing with special luggage at DFS

    Ookonn landing with special luggage at DFS

    Luxury travel retailer DFS Group is collaborating with Hong Kong luggage brand Ookonn to launch a dedicated pop-up store at T Galleria by DFS, Canton Road.

    The pop-up, to open next week, will showcase Ookonn’s signature patented round rolling luggage. It will also offer personalisation services, such as patterns that can be applied across an item’s body and handles as well as luggage covers. There are also monograms.

    It is the first on-ground store for the e-commerce company.

    “T Galleria by DFS provides a perfect setting to showcase our vision and values,” says co-founder/CEO/creative director Anson Shum.

    To mark the occasion, Ookonn has designed an exclusive luggage edition for DFS with a whimsical red and blue pattern.

    DFS will host a customer event on October 6 to introduce the pop-up and the DFS-exclusive print. There will also be demonstrations by Ookonn’s artist from Paris. An interactive artist will take over the store windows to entice people to explore the pop-up on the fashion floor. Stylist/former Voguefashion editor Grace Lam will join guests as they consult a tarot-card reader about their next travel destination.

  • Stocks reverse losses as North Korea tension eases

    Stocks reverse losses as North Korea tension eases

    Stocks reversing steep losses as investors shake off the latest North Korean threat. Plus – after the storm – The CEO of Waste Management, a Houston-based company, tells us how the city and its businesses will recover. And – Gold is on fire – but is too late to hop on this trade? We break down the carts. Plus – the fallout from the Mayweather-McGregor streaming fiasco rolls on – we have the latest. Catch The Final Round at 4 p.m. with Seana Smith and Yahoo Finance markets correspondent Myles Udland.

    Winners and losers

    Stocks in the green today include Movado as the watch designer reported and earnings beat and new stock buyback plan, Immunogen as the drug maker struck a deal to license its leukemia treatment with Jazz Pharmaceuticals, and Rockwell Collins – shares jumping on reports United Technologies is near a deal to buy the aircraft equipment maker.

    Lots of retail in read today starting with Best Buy as the world’s largest electronics retailer said this quarter’s strong earnings won’t be the new normal, J. Jill as the woman’s apparel maker reported guidance that was softer than expected, and Finish Line – shares getting trampled on as the athletic retailer slashed its profit forecast for the current year, claiming sales and margins would be under pressure.

    Buffering … on fight night

    Saturday night’s big fight between Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor was the most hyped boxing match in years.  But a HUGE streaming glitch left many fans very upset. Here with more on this is Yahoo Finance’s Dan Roberts.

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  • UberEATS finds big potential in South Korea food delivery market

    UberEATS finds big potential in South Korea food delivery market

    UberEATS, a food delivery service app run by ride-sharing pioneer Uber Technologies Inc., finds big growth potential in South Korea’s food delivery market due to its advanced wireless networks and growing orders on mobile phones, a senior company executive said.

    The U.S.-based business launched its UberEATS service in Seoul in August 2017,. The service is already available in 112 cities across 28 countries, where it has 60,000 restaurant partners.

    “Seoul is a perfect place for UberEATS. We find South Korea’s fastest internet speed really helpful for our business here. We are looking to expand our business in a few more regions in Seoul at least within this year,” Jaycee Lam, general manager of UberEATS North Asia, said.

    The executive did not elaborate on the names of the additional regions in Seoul. UberEATS service is now available in Itaewon and Gangnam, two downtown districts in the capital city.

    As for other possible cities, he only said there are growing requests from local customers to launch the UberEATS service in cities such as Busan, a southern port city, and the scenic Jeju Island.

    In the past four weeks, more than 200 restaurants have signed up to UberEATS, with more expected to jump on board. Partners deliver food using their own bicycles, scooters or cars and receive a fee from Uber.

    The majority of the food is delivered within 35 minutes to customers and free of charge for the time being as part of a promotion. But the company plans to receive a flat 3,500 won (US$3.00) delivery fee per order from customers, the general manager said, without giving any a specific time frame.

    To differentiate itself from local rivals such as Baedal Minjok and Yogiyo, UberEATS will focus on selecting the best restaurants and providing its customers with an insightful analysis of their businesses and industry outlook in a win-win strategy, he said.

    The UberEATS service was first launched in Toronto, Canada, in 2015 to deliver restaurant meals on-demand to homes and offices.

    The app-based service works like its ride-sharing sister app Uber. When an UberEATS app user orders food from a restaurant on his mobile phone, the restaurant calls a nearby delivery partner and asks him to collect the food when ready and deliver it right to the door of the user.

    UberEATS’ launch here is part of Uber’s commitment to South Korea’s US$14 billion food delivery market, the general manager said, expecting UberEATS to make the pie a lot bigger.

    “Since we have launched our transportation (or ride-sharing) business in Korea, we always think about what is the best way for Uber to keep being involved in the market deeper and then contribute here. UberEATS is one of the options that we can run in the ‘promising and fast-growing’ market,” the executive said.

    Still, a lack of awareness of the UberEATS service is the one area that can be improved in South Korea, he said.

  • JD Sports Fashion forms JV for Korea

    JD Sports Fashion forms JV for Korea

    British sportswear retailer JD Sports Fashion has formed a joint venture to enter the South Korean market.

    It is partnering with footwear retailer Shoemarker and its J&S Partners unit, which trades as Hot-T . It has bought an initial 15 per cent of Hot-T fo r £ 5.5 million (US$7.4 million ) and has a call option to buy a further 35 per cent stake following the finalisation of Hot-T’s accounts for the year ending December 31.

    JD said it intends to exercise the option and rebrand the Hot-T stores as JD, though the business will continue to be run by its existing management.

    With 23 stores and a website, Hot-T had about  £17.2 million in revenue last year.

    JD executive chairman Peter Cowgill says the JV will further strengthen the company’s global presence, and gives it the opportunity to enter a market with more than 50 million people with a proven partner.

    As well as the UK, JD has stores in Ireland, France and Spain.

  • South Korea’s Hyundai launches new Genesis sports sedan in SUV-driven market

    South Korea’s Hyundai launches new Genesis sports sedan in SUV-driven market

    South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Co launched its first new sedan under the premium Genesis marque in Seoul on Friday, hoping to cement the brand’s place in the luxury segment and make up for its lack of a strong SUV line-up.

    U.S. pop singer Gwen Stefani will perform for about 10,000 people at a gala event to launch the G70, the third sedan to carry the Genesis name but the first to be marketed exclusively under Hyundai Motor’s (005380.KS) fledgling premium brand.

    Starting from $33,000, the sporty four-door offers bang for the buck as it takes on rivals including affiliate Kia Motor’s (000270.KS) Stinger sedan and BMW’s 3 series.

    But analysts say the G70 will not solve Hyundai’s troubles in the United States, where sports utility vehicles (SUVs) are all the rage and the two previous Genesis-branded sedans failed to take off.

    “Look at Cadillac, with just one crossover, the brand is struggling in the U.S. It will be much the same story for Genesis until they can get a crossover to market,” said Dave Sullivan, product analysis manager at U.S. consultancy AutoPacific.

    “It’s not because the G70 will be a bad product … The sedan lineup just doesn’t match consumer demand.”

    The G70 debuts in South Korea on Friday followed by the United States early next year. Hyundai has not said when it would enter China and Europe, which are dominated by German premium brands.

    “G70 will pave the way for growth and expansion of the Genesis brand,” Executive Vice President Lee Kwang-guk told a media event.

    Hyundai Motor expects annual sales of over 60,000 G70 sedans globally.

    Hyundai has said the Genesis line-up will grow to six by 2021, with the addition of two SUVs and an electric vehicle.

    Genesis division head Manfred Fitzgerald told reporters that the next Genesis model will be an SUV, without elaborating further.

    Hyundai’s China sales tumbled more than 60 percent in the second quarter due to its lack of a strong SUV line-up and political tensions between China and South Korea over North Korea’s nuclear weapons program.

    In the United States, SUVs made up 35 percent of Hyundai’s total U.S. sales from January to August this year, far lower than the industry’s 62 percent, according to U.S. researcher Autodata.

    CRITICAL TEST

    The Genesis project is being closely watched by Hyundai Vice Chairman and heir apparent Chung Eui-sun, as he prepares to take over the world’s No.5 auto group from his father, 79-year-old Chairman Chung Mong-koo.

    As the first Genesis model which was not previously sold as a Hyundai, the G70 will be a key test of the two-year-old marque’s ability to survive in a fiercely competitive field.

    Its chief rival will be Hyundai affiliate Kia’s slightly cheaper Stinger, which shares the same platform as the G70 and launched in late April. Other rivals include BMW’s 3 series, Audi’s (NSUG.DE) A4 and Mercedes-Benz’s C-class.

  • 5G subs to overtake 3G in Korea by 2020

    5G subs to overtake 3G in Korea by 2020

    South Korean operators’ plans to take an early lead in the deployment of 5G is expected to help them overcome stagnating traditional telecoms service revenues, research from GlobalData indicates.

    The market’s 5G subscriber base is expected to outnumber the 3G base by 2020, two years after the planned world’s first commercial 5G deployment during next year’s Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, GlobalData said.

    This will be a boon to operators at a time when mobile voice service revenues are expected to decline at an average rate of 7% per year through to 2021, GlobalData telecoms market analyst Malcolm Rogers commented.
    “Operators around the globe faced with the same challenge, evolve to something more than a pipe provider or offer services that come with more utility. However, the Korean operators have been among the most proactive in growing business outside the core of communication,” he said.

    “Whereas operators in some markets have been slow to react to the digital disruption caused by OTTs and internet giants like Google and Amazon, the players in South Korea have been investing in new digital business for years.”

    The market’s operators – SK Telecom, KT and LG U+ – are focusing on a range of non-core segments including industrial IoT, payment platforms, media and commerce, Rogers added.

    KT recently launched an AI-based home assistant service while both SK Teleom and LG U+ are offering cellular based wireless payment platforms. All three are meanwhile investing in business-to-consumer and business-to-business e-commerce offerings, an entirely new industry for the operators.

    Against this backdrop, 5G networks are expected to allow the operators to introduce new services targeting industry, government and consumer markets, according to GlobalData.

    KT is already exploring offering 5G-enabled entertainment services including 8k mobile video streaming, while SK Telecom and KT are developing driverless car solutions and security platforms based on 5G technologies.