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Tag: Kuala Lumpur

  • AirAsia X to resume flights between Kuala Lumpur and Sydney

    AirAsia X to resume flights between Kuala Lumpur and Sydney

    AirAsia X (AAX) has unveiled plans to resume flights between Kuala Lumpur and Sydney on Feb 14. Flights will initially be operated weekly on Mondays from Kuala Lumpur to Sydney, returning on Tuesdays. Flight D7 228 is scheduled to depart from Kuala Lumpur at 19:25, arriving in Sydney at 06:30. The return leg, flight D7 229, is slated to leave Sydney at 08:30 and arrive back in Kuala Lumpur at 14:15.

    “Following our travel downtime over the last two years, and the recent completion of our restructuring process, we are thrilled to be able to relaunch and commence our gradual return to the skies. This would not have been possible without the overwhelming support from our guests and creditors and we thank them for their patience and understanding,” said Benyamin Ismail, CEO of AirAsia X. “Without any domestic routes AAX has been significantly affected by the pandemic. We now see light at the end of this long tunnel and we are working hard to operate again in all of our key markets, as one of the world’s leading low-cost medium-haul operators. Starting with flights to and from Sydney, we will progressively continue to honor outstanding bookings and Credit Accounts for our guests and creditors in other markets as soon as possible.”

    The airline has confirmed that it will prioritize full redemptions for customers affected by the restructuring. AAX customers can reinstate their flight booking and utilize their credit account to book the flights.

    Captain Suresh Kumar Bangah, COO of AirAsia X, said, “We have been very active on all-cargo flights throughout the pandemic and this has been a lifeline for us. For the first time, we are adding on passengers to supplement cargo revenue in our push to be a major combination carrier in this part of the world. Whilst take-up will be gradual, it can only get better in the coming months as more people return to the skies. We are ready for that pent-up demand.”

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  • Suria KLCC revamps its food court

    Suria KLCC revamps its food court

    Suria KLCC in the heart of Kuala Lumpur has unveiled its newly refurbished food court, which was designed to adapt to the Covid-19 era.

    Incorporating the space formerly occupied by department store Parkson, the Signatures food court boosts seating to more than 1500 while still ensuring enough space to comply with physical distancing requirements.

    Dining options have also been expanded with 23 food court outlets, six kiosks and seven restaurants. The revamped food court is equipped with a 5G infrastructure, and sports device-charging sockets.

    “A lot of thought and effort went into improving Signatures to what it is now,” said Andrew Brien, CEO of Suria KLCC.

    “Nothing has been left to chance, from the standard operating procedures to ensure hygiene, all the way to aesthetics capable of satisfying new norms for a long time.”

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  • Swarovski opens Crystal Studio concept store in KL, Malaysia

    Swarovski opens Crystal Studio concept store in KL, Malaysia

    Swarovski has launched Southeast Asia’s first Crystal Studio concept store, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Located in Mid Valley Megamall, the store offers interactive digital touchpoints throughout the store, including shop window screens and interactive tablets.

    Designed by Patricia Urquiola, the store concept “follows the last store redesign 10 years ago and heralds a new phase in Swarovski’s differentiated approach to the retail experience,” the company said.

    “The new Swarovski retail concept truly puts consumers at the center,” said Michele Molon, EVP omnichannel and commercial Oo/erations. “We are breaking the traditional distance between staff and customers, facilitating an interactive and continuous dialogue with them.”

    The store theme color is an incorporation of a warm color palette and Swarovski’s signature blue. Crystal Studio Malaysia houses a Crystal Bar, a station where customers can view new products with in-store experts.

    “Innovation, creativity, and the customer are at the core of this exciting new store concept,” said Robert Buchbauer, chairman and CEO, consumer goods business.

    “Before we started working on the aesthetics, we focused on functionality, with the ambition being to meet the digital demands of our consumers while offering them a unique and immersive brand and shopping experience,” he said.

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  • Robinsons may quit one Kuala Lumpur site

    Robinsons may quit one Kuala Lumpur site

    Singaporean department-store chain Robinsons may close one of its locations in Kuala Lumpur before its lease expires due to lackluster performance.

    The store launched a four-story 20,000sqft space in The Shoppes in Four Seasons Place less than two years ago, which has failed to live up to the firm’s expectations in terms of footfall. Its other outlet in the city has been operating since 2007.

    Robinsons has reportedly approached other department store operators in the territory to take over the space, including Parkson – which vacated its longstanding space in the neighboring Suria KLCC mall just last year.

    According to a report in The Edge, discussions between tenant and landlord are ongoing to determine the firm’s exact date of departure, which is likely to be in the third quarter this year. Robinson’s has filed widening financial losses in recent years.

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  • AirAsia X Launches Kuala Lumpur – Taipei – Okinawa Flights

    AirAsia X Launches Kuala Lumpur – Taipei – Okinawa Flights

    AirAsia X has launched flights between Kuala Lumpur and Naha Airport in Okinawa, Japan.

    AirAsia will operate the flights, which will fly via Taipei, four times per week on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays.

    Flight D7 384 is scheduled to leave KL at 07:35 and land in Taipei at 12:20. The aircraft then departs Taipei at 13:20, landing in Okinawa at 16:00.

    The return flight, D7 385, is timed to leave Naha Airport at 17:30 and land in Taipei at 18:10 before departing for KL at 19:10. The aircraft is scheduled to land back in KL at 00:05 the following day.

    AirAsia X Chairman, Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz, said, “With the addition of Okinawa, AirAsia X now flies to 35 destinations. Together with AirAsia Group, our combined fleet of over 250 aircraft can now connect Okinawa with over 150 destinations across ASEAN, Asia Pacific, the Middle East and the US.”

    Travelers from Kuala Lumpur to Okinawa Naha are not required to obtain a visa during their one-hour stopover in Taipei and may return to their seats after clearing a quick security check of their carry-on bags and inflight belongings.

    “As we begin to accept the delivery of the technologically-advanced Airbus A330neo aircraft later this year, the Group will continue to evaluate and consider launching exciting and viable new routes to destinations such as in Eastern Europe, within Asia and Australia. Such new routes, if viable, can accelerate domestic and regional tourism growth, especially in key markets with high demand,” added Tan Sri Rafidah.

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  • AirAsia starts exclusive route from Kuala Lumpur to Da Lat, Vietnam

    AirAsia starts exclusive route from Kuala Lumpur to Da Lat, Vietnam

    AirAsia has unveiled its maiden flight to Da Lat, capital of Lam Dong province in the central highlands of Vietnam. The inaugural flight made history as the first international airline to offer direct services between Kuala Lumpur and Da Lat.

    Nattinee Tawanchulee, regional commercial head of AirAsia said: “We now add our latest destination to further expand footprint in Vietnam. This new direct service will provide additional air connectivity to the people in the central highlands of Vietnam to travel across the region, as well as introducing Da Lat as a holiday destination to the world. Also known as the city of eternal spring for its pleasant weather, it welcomes visitors all year round.”

    Da Lat is AirAsia’s seventh destination in Vietnam after Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang, Nha Trang, Can Tho and Phu Quoc.

  • Swiss Watch Gallery launches Art of Time 2019 at KL

    Swiss Watch Gallery launches Art of Time 2019 at KL

    Swiss Watch Gallery launched its signature timepiece event, Art of Time 2019 at Pavilion Kuala Lumpur.

    Art of Time is presented by Swiss Watch Gallery in partnership with Tumi, GH Mumm, and media outlets The Edge and The Star.

    In its sixth rendition, Art of Time 2019 features the world’s renowned watchmakers, including Arnold & Son, Bell & Ross, Girard-Perregaux, Graham, IWC Schaffhausen, Jaquet Droz, Oris, Parmigiani Fleurier, TAG Heuer, Tudor, Ulysse Nardin and Zenith.

    “The idea behind Art of Time is to bring to Malaysia the experience of the amazing and exclusive watchmaking showcases of Basel and Geneva,” said Ashvin Valiram, executive director of Valiram Group. “We feel it is the best way to inculcate the love for horological instruments, and the craftsmanship and innovation that go into their creation.”

    The launch event has attracted more than 200 guests including entrepreneurs, corporate captains, retail partners, watch enthusiasts, celebrities, socialites and media figures

    “This year is our best by far, with new brands joining our showcase for the first time,” said Ashvin. “We look at ourselves not just as a retailer but also an advocate of fine watchmaking and through Art of Time, we’re looking to evolve the customers’ interest in watches and fuel the passion.”

    A Tumi pop-up also featured in the exhibition, highlighting the Tumi x Chris Pratt collection. There was also a special booth featuring watch winders from Orient Crown, a Singapore-based luxury timepiece accessories company.

    “When we opened our first watch boutique in Penang in 2001, we never expected to become a preeminent watch retailer in the country. Swiss Watch Gallery is indeed a young adult now and we look forward to further strengthening the business beyond the shores of Southeast Asia,” said Ashvin.

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  • AirAsia starts Kuala Lumpur-Belitung flights

    AirAsia starts Kuala Lumpur-Belitung flights

    AirAsia Group Bhd has began flying four times weekly services from Kuala Lumpur to Belitung. This is in addition to the daily flights between Jakarta and Belitung.

    AirAsia Indonesia deputy CEO Veranita Yosephine said AirAsia Indonesia has so far this year, launched new routes from Jakarta to Sorong, from Bali to Lombok and to Labuan Bajo.

    “To facilitate this expansion, the company has grown its fleet to include three new Airbus A320s which are based in Jakarta and Lombok. By year end, we will also take delivery of an additional two new aircraft,” she said in a statement today.

    To celebrate the new route, AirAsia is offering AirAsia BIG members special all-in fares from as low as RM89 from Kuala Lumpur to Belitung, from now until Oct 6, for travel from today until Feb 9, 2020.

    All-in non-member fares meanwhile, will start from RM94 for one-way travel, inclusive of taxes.

    AirAsia shares closed down 3 sen or 1.69% at RM1.74 today, with 8.05 million shares done, bringing a market capitalisation of RM5.82 billion.

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  • Malaysian retail sales sets record in July

    Malaysian retail sales sets record in July

    Malaysian retail sales grew by 7.1 percent in July.

    Combined with the wholesale trade, a new record high of RM112.5 billion (US$26.94 billion) turnover was set for the month.

    According to Malaysia’s chief statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin, the retail trade alone grew by 7.1 percent, that figure fuelled by a 10.5-per-cent growth in sales of food, beverages, and tobacco.

    This was followed by retail sales of other goods in specialized stores and retail sales in non-specialised stores which registered 8.2 percent and 8.1 percent respectively.

    For wholesale trade, sales value expanded 6.6 percent. However, sales of motor vehicles fell by 1.7 percent year on year.

    Growth on a month-on-month basis in combined wholesale and retail sales rose by 0.2 percent, with the retail trade up by 1.1 percent and wholesale transactions down by 2.3 percent.

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  • AirAsia Good hub opens in Kuala Lumpur

    AirAsia Good hub opens in Kuala Lumpur

    AirAsia Foundation opened its first social enterprise hub, Destination: GOOD, at the weekend, marking a new milestone in its social entrepreneurship advocacy.

    Located downtown Kuala Lumpur in the former Rex Cinema premises now called REXKL, Destination: GOOD retails more than 400 responsibly and ethically produced goods sourced from over 30 social enterprises from around ASEAN.

    More than a shop, it aims to be an exchange that fosters collaboration between ASEAN social entrepreneurs and community-based enterprises.

    “In the last seven years, we have awarded 24 grants to innovative ASEAN social enterprises to help them grow. We realised that to expand our reach, we needed to create broad-based platforms to speak to new markets and audiences. Through Destination: GOOD, we hope to do just that and make social enterprise goods and services accessible to anyone seeking sustainable travel and lifestyle solutions,” said AirAsia Foundation executive director Yap Mun Ching.

    Malaysia’s Minister of Finance, YB Lim Guan Eng, joined AirAsia Group executive chairman Datuk Kamarudin Meranun and AirAsia Group CEO Tony Fernandes at the opening ceremony.

    Also present to share their stories were 10 of AirAsia Foundation’s Malaysian social enterprise partners, including The Basikal, Langit Collective and The Picha Project.

    On the sidelines of the shop opening, AirAsia Foundation signed a Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) with Kraftangan Malaysia to bring Malaysian crafts to a new audience and with Minconsult Sdn Bhd, the AirAsia philanthropic arm’s first corporate partner, to jointly fund social enterprise outreach activities in Kuala Lumpur. Over the past two years, AirAsia Foundation has operated Destination: GOOD as a pop-up store in various locations, including Kuala Lumpur International Airport (klia2). This is the first time the shop will have a permanent address in the city centre.

  • A.S. Watson Group Opens its Worldwide 15,000th Storein Kuala Lumpur

    A.S. Watson Group Opens its Worldwide 15,000th Storein Kuala Lumpur

    The world’s largest and fastest growing international health & beauty retailer A.S. Watson Group celebrates an important milestone today as it opens its 15,000th store.

    Growth Continues at Record Rate

    For the fourth year in a row, A.S. Watson’s new store opening continues to be at an average speed of one store every seven hours across its 25 markets in Asia and Europe.

    The worldwide 15,000th store opening of A.S. Watson coincides with its 500th store opening of Watsons in Malaysia, one of the fastest growing countries for beauty and wellness products. Watsons is the flagship retail brand of A.S. Watson with over 7,200 stores in 13 markets in Asia and Eastern Europe.

    The new store is located in Central i-City, a new shopping mall in Malaysia, and it uses technology to enhance customer experience and connect offline and online. The 4,200 square-feet G8 design store is equipped with StyleMe, AR (Augmented Reality) technology, to showcase the latest fashionable product, in a fun and engaging way for customers. Watsons’ Hi Mirror skin analysis device is also available for customers to assess their skin conditions at the store. G8 represents the 8th Generation of the Watsons store design incorporating extensive customer and store team feedback, as well as market research of latest trends on shopping experience.  It will roll out across the region in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam and Turkey later this year.

    O+O Strategy – Strengthening Customer Connectivity Online and Offline

    Mr Dominic Lai, Group Managing Director of A.S. Watson Group is very excited at the celebration event of this important milestone, “The continued success of our business is about customer connectivity – our ability to connect customers with products, trends and experience they want in beauty, personal care, health and wellness. Our O+O (Online and Offline) strategy focuses on providing an extensive store network, excellent in-store customer service, most relevant health and beauty assortment, combined with seamless digital experience and loyalty schemes that help to put smiles on customers’ faces.”

    Globally A.S. Watson has over 135 million loyalty members and has been investing HK$1 billion (approx.US$128 million) in digital since 2012 to enhance customer experience and enable the business to build data-driven approach to stay closer to customers’ needs.

    A Thankful Celebration

    Mr Lai continues, “We are one of the longest standing companies in the world with 178 years of history.  To be able to reach yet another critical milestone, this is only possible with the love from our customers, passion and commitment from our 140,000 colleagues around the world, and the unfailing support from our business partners.”

    From one dispensary in Hong Kong to 15,000 stores worldwide, A.S. Watson has built close relationship with customers and a strong team of 140,000 colleagues.  The celebration activities in every market will be about thanking customers and showing appreciation to colleagues.  There will be campaigns in every market to celebrate, including member-exclusive benefits and special offers, both offline and online.

  • U Mobile taps ZTE to conduct 5G trials in Malaysia

    U Mobile taps ZTE to conduct 5G trials in Malaysia

    U Mobile has signed an MoU with ZTE to support its 5G deployment in Malaysia

    The agreement will see both parties collaborating on various 5G related developments including live testing, 5G showcases well as implementation of Massive MIMO.

    U Mobile CEO Wong Heang Tuck said the operator has a long standing working relationship with ZTE and it is a logical next step for the companies to collaborate on initiatives related to 5G.

    “In the near future, we will be working closely with ZTE to conduct live tests in select areas in the KL city, so Malaysians may experience the first-hand power of 5G,” Wong said in a statement.

    U Mobile CTO Woon Ooi Yuen added that the operator has been aggressively expanding its 4G LTE networks all across West and East Malaysia in recent months and started plotting its journey towards 5G.

    “As part of our 5G roadmap, we will be implementing Massive MIMO in certain areas in the KL City to further enhance customer experience by leveraging the wider bandwidths.”

    Steven Ge, managing director of ZTE Malaysia, said the company has 5G end-to-end solution capabilities, adding that the partnership with U Mobile will “turn 5G into a reality in the near future to benefit Malaysians.”

    Earlier this week, U Mobile has also formed a strategic partnership with Razer to collaborate in e-payments, e-sports, and 5G testbeds.

    Under the partnership, U Mobile and Razer are looking into leveraging e-sports events for 5G testbeds in Malaysia by conducting e-sports-related 5G testbeds and trials in the country.

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  • AirAsia abolishes KLIA 2 fee

    AirAsia abolishes KLIA 2 fee

    AirAsia Group Bhd will cease charging the RM3 klia2 fee for all flights departing from Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 (klia2) starting today. The klia2 fee was introduced in May 2014 to cover the additional cost created at klia2 due to the use of mandatory facilities imposed by Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) such as aerobridges and SITA check-in and boarding systems, compared to the low-cost carrier terminal previously.

    “Following our announcement last week, we have removed the klia2 fee. We have said from the very beginning that klia2 is not fit for low-cost carrier operations, and we will be going directly to MAHB for all the extra costs they’re costing us,” AirAsia Malaysia CEO Riad Asmat said in a statement.

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  • Lancome pop-up store opens in Pavilion KL

    Lancome pop-up store opens in Pavilion KL

    Lancome is set to launch its first exclusive pop-up store at Pavilion Kuala Lumpur. The Lancome pop-up store will open from January 7 until February 15 in celebration of the Chinese New Year and be promoted via a “Wish Big” campaign offering limited edition beauty products alongside other prizes, including a grand prize trip to Paris.

    Store visitors will be able to sample Lancome’s Advanced Genifique product as well as send personalised CNY e-greetings and enjoy various interactive activities. Shoppers will be able to buy from several limited edition Lancome bestsellers.

     

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  • Cle De Peau Beaute opens first Malaysian store

    Cle De Peau Beaute opens first Malaysian store

    Luxury skincare and makeup brand Cle De Peau Beaute Malaysia has opened its first boutique, at Pavilion Kuala Lumpur shopping centre. The store features a makeup gallery which tells the story of Pave-Diamond particles while a skincare gallery showcases La Creme.

    The store has consultation tables with personal beauty specialists available to help customers choose the most suitable products for their skin types.

    A VIP-consultation space at the back of the boutique hosts signature facial treatments, which incorporate massage techniques by aestheticians.

    “The retail landscape has changed tremendously in the past 15 years,” said Hiroyuki Maeda, Cle de Peau Beaute global director of business operations with the group. “This change is not specific to just Malaysia but on a global level. As a brand, we need to continuously innovate and transform to make ourselves relevant to our customers.”

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