Retail News CRM

Tag: lifestyle

  • Emami India acquires German brand Creme 21

    Emami India acquires German brand Creme 21

    Indian FMCG major Emami Ltd on Friday said it has acquired German brand Creme 21 in the personal care space, having major business in the Middle East and other focus markets. The brand, which offers skin care and body care products such as creams and lotions, shower gels, sun care range and men’s range, has been acquired at less than 1.5 times of its sales.

    With current sales at over eight million euros and a gross margin of over 50 per cent, the city-headquartered company expects to take this brand on an aggressive growth trajectory.

    “The acquisition has a strong business fit as it operates in our focus markets and chosen categories. We plan to leverage our existing network of distribution and infrastructure to grow the brand.

    “It has good potential for growth and we expect it to add value to our growth trajectory. With this acquisition, the company would be able to enjoy economies of scale due to additional business base,” said company Director Harsha V. Agarwal.

    The company said international acquisition is in line with its strategy for growth through inorganic route.

    Over 80 percent of the brand’s business is contributed by MENA (the Middle East and North Africa) region and the balance by Germany and other focused countries. The products are manufactured by a third party in Germany under asset lean model.

    “The acquisition is being funded from internal accruals,” it added.

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  • Axiata buys 80% stake in Laos firm

    Axiata buys 80% stake in Laos firm

    Axiata Group Bhd’s 63%-owned subsidiary edotco Investments (Labuan) Ltd (edotco Labuan) is acquiring an 80% stake in Laos’s Mekong Tower Company Ltd (MTCL) for LAK12.8 billion (RM6.08 million) cash. Axiata said in a filing with the stock exchange that edotco Labuan had entered into a share subscription agreement (SSA) with Viphet Sihachakr (VS) and MTCL for the purchase.

    The SSA is subject to, amongst other, procurement of operating licence or other form of authorisation from the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications of the Government of Laos to MTCL for the provision of infrastructure solutions for telecommunications and network operators in Laos; registration of MTCL with the Ministry of Industry and Commerce of the Government of Laos; and procurement by VS of viable business including relevant concessions and/or incentives in Laos.

    Unless waived by the parties, the conditions must be satisfied not later than six months from the date of the SSA.

    “The proposed subscription provides opportunities for edotco group to expand into a new market and grow organically via build-to-suits and inorganically with sizeable sale-and-leaseback prospects,“ Axiata said.

    The Laos tower market is expected to undergo intense growth in tandem with a national drive towards 4G adoption, with an estimated demand of no less than 5,000 towers over the next three years, underscoring the need for an independent tower player to meet the requisite capital expenditure and cost optimisation burdens incumbent on local mobile network operators.

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  • Pronovias enters China with Shanghai store opening

    Pronovias enters China with Shanghai store opening

    Spanish bridalwear firm Pronovias has launched its first Chinese location in Shanghai. The 500sqm store is opening in luxury shopping centre Plaza 66, which hosts a range of high-end brands including Chanel and Dior. The move sparks off a greater strategy for the region, in which the Shanghai location will serve as Pronovias’s flagship.

    The brand was founded by BC Partners explicitly to tackle the difficult Chinese and American markets. China is the world’s largest producer of wedding dresses, and local custom is often to hire rather than buy the dress.

    The firm is simultaneously moving to expand in the US, with eight openings planned for the American East Coast.

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  • Pernod Ricard Global Travel Retail announces new Vice President Marketing

    Pernod Ricard Global Travel Retail announces new Vice President Marketing

    Craig Johnson, currently Vice President Global Marketing, Absolut Vodka at The Absolut Company, is appointed to the position of Vice President Marketing of Pernod Ricard Global Travel Retail (PR GTR) from January 2019, reporting to Mohit Lal, CEO of Pernod Ricard Global Travel Retail. Johnson will be based in Pernod Ricard Global Travel Retail’s London headquarters and will also become a member of the PR GTR Executive Team.

    This organizational change will continue to build on the strong work achieved so far since the consolidation of the global travel team, by continuing to push category boundaries of what can be achieved within the channel and connect with travelers across the globe at different stages of the Travel Trail through innovative and meaningful communications.

    Craig Johnson, BA Engineering, Rochester Institute of Technology and MBA, The University of Connecticut, started his career at BIC in 1993, where he transitioned from engineering to marketing, before joining Allied Domecq Spirits USA in 1999 as Brand Director, Innovation & Advantage.

    Craig joined the Group at Pernod Ricard USA in 2004 as Brand Director and became Vice President Marketing, Spirits in 2010. He joined The Absolut Company in 2013 as Global Brand Director, Malibu, and was promoted to Global Marketing Director in late 2015.

    From January 2019 Craig is the Global Vice President Marketing for Global Travel Retail.

  • Diamanti Per Tutti makes debut in Singapore

    Diamanti Per Tutti makes debut in Singapore

    Belgian jewellery brand Diamanti Per Tutti has launched its first standalone store in Singapore at Raffles City Shopping Centre. Positioned as an affordable luxury label, Antwerp-based Diamanti Per Tutti retails 925 Sterling Silver items gilded with 18 carat pink or yellow gold vermeil or white rhodium, set by hand with real, ethically-sourced natural diamonds and gems.

    The brand, which has outlets in Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong, plans to open its second Singapore location in March.

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  • Why top watch marques no longer need Baselworld, SIHH?

    Why top watch marques no longer need Baselworld, SIHH?

    Dr Bernard Cheong has what he calls a “migration box” – a travel case that holds up to eight timepieces. “I like to say that these are the watches I will take with me if I have to relocate,” says the jovial 61-year-old, one of the world’s most prolific watch collectors. One of his most prized pieces is a S$3.3 million (US$2.4 million) Greubel Forsey Invention Piece 1, numbered 00 in an 11-piece series. Its serial number indicates that it is the watchmaker’s personal prototype. It would not even have been sold, if not for Cheong’s clout. He believes the watch can eventually command up to S$5 million.

    In 2011, he made history when he became the first ambassador for the Geneva-based Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie who was not from the watch industry. He helped formulate the transparent jury system, and an audited and numbered voting system, for the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève in 2002, a high-end watchmaking contest, before introducing it to Asia.

    His expertise is drawn from decades of experience of watch buying and selling and forging close relationships with watchmakers and retailers. This has also put him in the unique position of being an industry observer with unfiltered, and sometimes contrary, insights.

    For instance, he does not mince words when talking about the recent issues surrounding the industry’s key watch fairs, Baselworld and SIHH. The two fairs recently announced they would be synchronizing their calendars to run back to back, following a fall in the number of Baselworld exhibitors.

    “It is a reality of the industry. The exhibitors do not need to be there any more – why pay so much to exhibit like this?” he says. Cheong notes that watchmakers today can easily bypass industry fairs by offering information about their latest creations directly to consumers via the internet.

    Protecting his beloved industry is something Cheong takes seriously. In China, the recent crackdown on conspicuous consumption has led to a drop in sales and to brands like Richemont buying back unsold stock. “It is smart for the companies to buy back their precious pieces. When times are hard, people will sell watches at any price to put food on the table,” he says. This could lead to a massive undercutting in prices, he adds.

    “They did the right thing to retain control of prices.”

  • Apps race to attract customers with sweet deals

    Apps race to attract customers with sweet deals

    E-wallets, food-delivery and online shopping apps are offering a range of Tet (Lunar New Year Festival) promotions to widen their customer base. On January 21, e-wallet cashless payment platform MoMo experienced a temporary freeze of its network shortly after launching a promotion that gives customers a chance to receive gifts when using the app to send money.

    Shortly after the promotion was launched, MoMo recorded an additional 500,000 downloads and registrations of its app, forcing the platform to upgrade its capacity immediately.

    At the time of the freeze, MoMo reported a record of over 1 million customers who had logged on at the same time for a chance to receive something from MoMo’s pool of gifts worth over VND100 billion ($4.32 million).

    About 2 days later, ZaloPay, another e-payment platform also entered the race by encouraging users to make deposits, payments and money transfers to receive bonus points and redeem vouchers from a pool of VND10 billion ($431,995).

    The promotion heat has also spread to the food delivery industry, where Grab, the Singaporean-based ride hailing and food delivery app, has announced its expansion to an additional 12 provinces and cities, to make “food ordering easier during Tet“.

    Tet, or Lunar New Year Festival, will be celebrated from February 2-10 this year.

    Demi Yu, GrabFood regional director for Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam and Philippines, revealed that the number of GrabFood orders increased has increased 25 times since it was launched in Vietnam last October.

    “With our extensive driver partner network, we’ve been able to lower average delivery time to 20 minutes in central Hanoi and HCMC, making us the fastest food delivery service in Vietnam,” she said.

    A survey published by Vietnamese market research firm GCOMM earlier this month showed that 99 percent of those surveyed said they used online food ordering services at least 2-3 times per month. 39 percent said they ordered through these apps 2-3 times a week.

    According to this survey, the 6 most popular apps are GrabFood, Foody, GoFood, Lala, Vietnammm and Lixi. However, because of the fierceness of competition, just a few days before the study was announced, Lala withdrew from the food delivery market to focus on providing software solutions to restaurants.

    “Demand for delivery is growing in Hanoi and HCMC. I think in the next 5 years, it will thrive in the 10 largest cities. There are about 100,000 delivery orders each day in HCMC and Hanoi combined, whereas there was virtually no demand for this service 3 years ago.

    The delivery market is now worth $500 million, but is expected to grow to $2 billion in 5 years,” said Luong Duy Hoai, founder of GHN, a courier service with over 7,000 staff.

    According to a recent report by South Korean commercial giant Lotte, the number of orders and visits by online shoppers rose by 80 percent and 200 percent respectively in 2018.

    Kim Kyou Sik, general director of Lotte.vn, the group’s online outlet, said: “Late 2019 will be a major battle for all e-commercial sites to establish market share. We aspire to become one of Vietnam’s top 4 e-commerce sites by the end of the year.”

    According to research by Nielsen Vietnam, with 53 percent of the population using the Internet, nearly 50 million numbers registered on smartphones, most online shoppers being from 25-29 years old, the e-commerce market in Vietnam is full of potential despite growing at 22 percent per year.

    The e-Conomy SEA 2018 report by Google and Singaporean investment firm Temasek also revealed that e-commerce, along with three other areas, namely online advertising, online travel and ride hailing dominate Vietnam’s Internet economy.

    In 2018, the Internet economy had an estimated total worth of $9 billion. Earlier this year, the two companies collaborated in a report which revealed that gross merchandise volume of Vietnam’s Internet economy amounted to 4 percent of its GDP.

  • The We Company Debuts Made by We

    The We Company Debuts Made by We

    Co-working firm The We Company (previously WeWork) has opened a retail venture and public workspace in New York. The Made by We retail space, cafe and workplace can be used by anyone without the need for a membership, with workstations and meeting rooms available for rent by the minute. The work space features products made by current WeWork member companies available for sale, from apparel to snacks to audiotech gear. It also houses a Bluestone Lane cafe.

    While headquartered in New York City, The We Company has WeWork shared office spaces in major cities across Mainland China, Japan and India, as well as in Ho Chi Minh City, Singapore, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Manila, Busan, Seoul and Bangkok.

    “Made by We was launched with a vision to connect the We community with the rest of the world, and provide people with the best on-demand workspace, services and products, no membership required”, said company partner Julie Rice.

    “Everything we do at The We Company, from the spaces we curate to the service offerings we provide, is intended to create meaningful human connections.”

    View the gallery below for pictures (7 images) :

     

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  • Samsung Philippines redesigns its Manila store

    Samsung Philippines redesigns its Manila store

    Samsung Philippines has launched a redesigned flagship store in Manila. Located in CyberZone at SM Megamall, the store is designed to showcase the brand’s latest technologies and aesthetics, with U-shaped center bars built to facilitate one-on-one communication with customers as they interact with the products. A central ‘Newness Table’ serves to show off the most recent Samsung innovations.

    Accessories are given the same exposure as the more expensive offerings with equal opportunities for consumers to examine and try before they buy. Dedicated spaces are reserved for Gear S watches and Samsung Gear VR offerings, as well as audio products such as speakers and headphones.

    The flagship also houses a revamped customer service area, featuring experience lounges and consumer learning programs.

    “Samsung as a brand has always been known to consistently redefine the new normal and to go beyond expectations. Over the years, our mobile phones have set the benchmark for what the consumers need and want”, said Samsung Philippines president James Jung. “The new store design heralds a new chapter in Samsung retail, enabling customers to engage with our brand and products in new ways.”

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  • AirAsia carried 16% more passengers in 2018

    AirAsia carried 16% more passengers in 2018

    AirAsia Group Bhd Consolidated AOCs carried a total of 12.1 million passengers in the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2018 (4Q18), reflecting a 16% growth from 10.4 million passengers carried a year ago. During the quarter, load factor was 4 percentage points lower at 84% from 88% a year ago, due to significant increase in capacity, which rose 21% to 14.3 million from 11.9 million a year ago.

    The group said in a statement that its available seat kilometres (ASK) grew 14% year-on-year, in line with the group’s strategy to grow its market share.

    For the full financial year ended Dec 31, 2018 (FY18), the group carried a total of 44.4 million, an increase of 14% from 39.0 million passengers carried a year ago.

    Capacity grew 18% to 52.5 million from 44.4 million a year ago while load factor fell 3 percentage points to 85% from 88% a year ago. ASK for the period grew 14%.

    The consolidated AOCs refers to AOCs whose financial and operational results are consolidated for financial reporting purposes, namely the Malaysian, Indonesian and Philippines AOCs.

    In 4Q18, Malaysia AirAsia carried a total of 8.5 million passengers, reflecting a 9% increase from 7.7 million passengers carried a year ago. Load factor fell 5 percentage points to 84% from 89% a year ago.

    The Malaysian operations saw a 16% increase in capacity to 10.2 million from 8.8 million a year ago while ASK rose 9% year-on-year.

    For FY18, Malaysia AirAsia carried 32.3 million passengers, 11% higher than 29.1 million passengers carried a year ago while load factor fell 4 percentage points to 85% from 89% a year ago.

    Capacity grew 16% to 38.0 million from 32.8 million a year ago while ASK rose 12% year-on-year.

    Overall, the group carried a total of 74.8 million passengers in FY18, which is an increase of 14% year-on-year. This includes all operations in Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, India and Japan.

    The group also expanded its capacity during the year, with ASK up by 15% and load factor of 85%. The group’s total fleet size closed at 224.

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  • LG Household sells 1 trillion won of cosmetics in quarter

    LG Household sells 1 trillion won of cosmetics in quarter

    LG Household & Health Care sold 1 trillion won ($885.2 million) of cosmetics for the first time ever in a quarter, the company said Thursday. In its 2018 fourth quarter, cosmetics sales totaled 1.05 trillion won, an increase of 18.2 percent year on year. It credits strong sales of luxury line “The History of Whoo” for the good performance, adding that Whoo became the first single brand in the domestic cosmetics industry to reach 2 trillion won in annual global sales.

    LG’s health care arm achieved another first. It recorded annual operating profits over 1 trillion won for the first time last year, while posting 6.7 trillion won in total sales.

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  • Sam’s Club plans to have 40 stores in Chinese mainland by 2020

    Sam’s Club plans to have 40 stores in Chinese mainland by 2020

    Sam’s Club China plans 40 more stores across China by the end of the year – with online sales anticipated to account for 13–15 per cent of its income throughout the territory by that time. The company says it will shortly launch a Sam’s Club store in Shanghai’s Qingpu, the second in Shanghai for the brand, which first opened in the city eight years ago in Pudong.

    Sam’s Club operates as a members-only retail chain with a 2 million-strong membership.

    “As we expand our business across China we also want to control quality and to make sure shoppers enjoy the shopping experience”, said president of Sam’s Club China Andrew Miles.

    Sam’s Club’s existing Shanghai store underwent renovations that were completed last month, adding a wine tasting space, pharmacy, jewellery counter and optical center for eyewear.

    “The remodelling of existing storefronts doesn’t just reflect a newer format but the way we treat our members and how we recruit members and introduce Sam’s Club” said Miles.

    Membership of Sam’s Club China costs CNY260 (US$39) per annum, with premium memberships available at CNY680 ($100) annually. The majority of members join via WeChat.

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  • Reliance has true potential to evolve into India’s Amazon or Alibaba

    Reliance has true potential to evolve into India’s Amazon or Alibaba

    A week after Reliance Industries (RIL) reported a 8.82 percent rise in consolidated net profit for its third quarter at Rs 10,251 crore, global financial services firm UBS on Thursday said the Mukesh Ambani-led RIL has the true potential to evolve from an integrated energy company into a consumer giant like Amazon or Alibaba.

    In a comprehensive 100-page report, UBS said RIL can become a market leader in telecom and media, while gaining a significant share in retail/e-commerce.

    “Its success could be built on an ecosystem or bundling strategy, and a home-court advantage, similar to Alibaba’s success in China, beyond explicit or implicit policy support,” noted the report.

    RIL posted a net profit of Rs 9,420 crore in the corresponding quarter of 2017-18. The company’s consolidated revenue from operations during the quarter in consideration at Rs 1,60,299 crore jumped a massive 56.38 per cent over Rs 1,02,500 crore earned in the October-December quarter of FY18.

    According to the UBS report, its China Internet analyst, Jerry Liu, has listed some comparables between Alibaba and Reliance such as pursuing an ecosystem or a bundling strategy in a high-growth fragmented retail sector with lower online penetration and home-turf advantage.

    “Similarly, Eric Sheridan, our US internet analyst, thinks Amazon’s core value proposition to customers is its Prime subscription, which offers free shipping and video and music content,” the report noted.

    “Our assessment of the capital framework, regulations, business positioning and emerging trends in each of its consumer-facing business indicates RIL can lead in telecom and media and gain significant share in retail/ecommerce,” it added.

    The report found another similarity RIL shares with Amazon and Alibaba – an ecosystem strategy.

    “The biggest difference is that the Chinese and American internet platforms do not own telecom networks.

    “But based on the success of Amazon Prime, and similar memberships such as Alibaba’s 88VIP and JD’s Plus in China, we believe bundling of products and services is a tried and true strategy, and this should play to Reliance’s advantage,” the report highlighted.

    Addressing the “Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit 2019” on January 18, Reliance Industries Chairman and Managing Director Mukesh Ambani announced that Reliance would double its investment and employment numbers over the next decade.

    He said Reliance Jio and Reliance Retail would soon launch a new commerce platform for small retailers — a mega mission which will first be launched in Gujarat and then across the country, urging Prime Minister Narendra Modi to lead a fight against ‘data colonisation’.

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  • Gucci adds 6 new intriguing Gucci Places

    Gucci adds 6 new intriguing Gucci Places

    Luxury fashion brand Gucci has labelled six international destinations as ‘Gucci Places’ – a list that includes Daelim Museum in Seoul. The Gucci Places were selected by the Italian Fashion House as destinations that “surprise, arouse interest, and inspire a creative response”, according to a report in Prestige Online. They were chosen in collaboration with well-known artists who were tasked with visiting the place and record their impressions, establishing a visual journey of photographs, travel notes and sketches.

    Daelim Museum was named for its association with Coco Capitan, an artist whose calligraphy has appeared on Gucci collections.

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  • Ssangyong teases new Korando

    Ssangyong teases new Korando

    SsangYong Motor said Monday it will release a brand new sport utility vehicle in March that will replace its current Korando C SUV. The fresh model, which has been developed under the project name C300, will simply be called the “Korando,” according to the carmaker. Korando is one of SsangYong’s oldest lineups, alongside Tivoli and Rexton. The company decided to retain the name, hoping that would boost sales.

    It is the first entirely new car in the Korando lineup in eight years, since the company rolled out the midsize SUV Korando C – since then, it has just been revamped versions of existing models. Cars sold under the Korando label include the Korando Sports, Korando Turismo and Korando C, which will be discontinued when the new Korando launches.

    SsangYong also unveiled three teaser images of the car on Monday. The carmaker said it used a low and wide design for the car’s body, following a global trend. The front of the vehicle resembles SsangYong’s popular compact SUV Tivoli.

    The automaker has added various driver assistant features to the car. With the SUV market expanding, SsangYong hopes to grow its market share in the local car market with the anticipated release.

    A spokesperson from SsangYong said the new car will be the “most fascinating and high-tech Korando-branded car in history.”