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Tag: lifestyle

  • LG profit plunges, missing forecasts by a mile

    LG profit plunges, missing forecasts by a mile

    LG Electronics’ operating profit fell nearly 80 percent in the fourth-quarter of 2018 year-on-year, according to preliminary figures disclosed in a Financial Supervisory Service regulatory filing Tuesday.  The smartphone and household appliances manufacturer estimated 75.3 billion won ($67.0 million) in operating profit for the final quarter of last year compared to 366.8 billion won in the same quarter in 2017.

    The estimate is far below the 398.1 billion won forecast by analysts surveyed by FnGuide, a data provider. The company anticipated 15.8 trillion won in revenue from October to December last year, a 7-percent decline from the same period a year earlier.

    Analysts pointed to the slowing global smartphone market as a factor weighing on the company.

    “With the smartphone market currently in a slump, [the company] is unable to find an opportunity to recover,” said Kim Ji-san, an analyst at Kiwoom Securities in a report Tuesday that predicted disappointing earnings prior to LG’s announcement. “Demand has slowed as smartphone replacement cycles have become longer in high-value markets such as Korea and the United States,” Kim added.

    Meanwhile, the company estimated annual operating profit for 2018 at 2.7 trillion won, a 9.5 percent rise from the previous year.

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  • Balenciaga launches first in-house eyewear line with Dover Street Market

    Balenciaga launches first in-house eyewear line with Dover Street Market

    French luxury house Kering has launched its first in-house Balenciaga eyewear line at British Dover Street Market stores. The new collection is exclusive to the DSM chain in the US, UK, Japan, Singapore and China, as well as the brand’s e-commerce channel. The high-end products are valued between US$290–570, with both sunglasses and prescription frames available.

    The Balenciaga eyewear line represents the first in-house Kering Eyewear product range. Previous Balenciaga collections were produced under Marcolin Eyewear, the creator of shades for numerous luxury labels.

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  • KKR invests into lifestyle products

    KKR invests into lifestyle products

    Private Equity firm KKR has taken up a “significant stake” in massage chair and lifestyle products group V3, the owner of the OSIM and TWG Tea brands. KKR’s investment is up to S$500 million in V3, valuing V3 at an enterprise value of about S$1.7 billion. However,  Both parties declined to comment on the exact mix of equity and debt financing. KKR is making the investment from its Asian Fund III. What we know is that the investment by KKR represents more than 50 percent increase in enterprise value compared to when the group was taken private.

    Mr Magnus said: “The luxury lifestyle and wellness industry continues to be a sector of exciting growth in Asia, proliferated by rapidly rising consumer affluence throughout the region.”

    Ron Sim remains the Chairman, Chief Executive and Controlling Shareholder of V3. He said: “I am extremely pleased to welcome KKR as a significant shareholder in V3. I am confident this investment will position the company for our next phase of growth, starting with the immediate expansion of TWG Tea in Japan and the US and of OSIM in China. We would also be looking into M&A opportunities that are earnings accretive.”

    KKR partner Jaka Prasetya said the investment underscores KKR’s strong belief in the continued growth of the region’s consumer sector: “We aim to provide support and capital to successful home-grown, regional companies like V3 in order to capture opportunities across Asia and beyond.”

    Headquartered in Singapore, V3 has a presence in over 100 cities in 26 countries around the world. The largest chunk of V3’s revenue comes from sales of OSIM massage chairs.

    V3’s annual revenue climbed back above the S$600 million mark last year, reversing the revenue decline owing to store closures in China in prior years. Profit also rose, Mr Sim said.

    The luxury lifestyle and wellness industry continues to be a sector of exciting growth in Asia, proliferated by rapidly rising consumer affluence throughout the region.

  • Bite & Bite with Line Friends cafe opens

    Bite & Bite with Line Friends cafe opens

    The world’s first Bite & Bite with Line Friends cafe has opened at Hong Kong International Airport. Operated by food and beverage company SSP Hong Kong, the cafe is located on level 7 near gate 201. The cafe combines original Line Friends characters with a variety of dishes ranging from breakfasts through to snacks and dinner fare in a 60-seat dining area. The menu features both Korean and western food.

    Line, a chat program headquartered in Japan owned by South Korea’s Naver Corporation, has opened Line Friends stores in Bangkok, Hong Kong, Seoul, Shanghai, Tokyo, Taipei, New York and Los Angeles, all selling memorabilia featuring the characters of software.

    The Bite & Bite with Line Friends cafe also sells lifestyle products, souvenirs and travel items, such as neck pillows, luggage tags and travel bags.

    View gallery below for pictures (6 images) :

     

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  • F&B procurement startup lures Japanese investor

    F&B procurement startup lures Japanese investor

    Kamereo, a Vietnamese sourcing platform for restaurants, has raised $500,000 in seed funding from Japan’s Genesia Ventures and Velocity Ventures Vietnam. Japanese Taku Tanaka, founder of Kamereo, said the newly acquired money would be used to upgrade the platform’s service offerings and strengthen the customer care team. “We use technology to solve the buying and sourcing problem, and restaurants can focus on their core business to bring the best culinary experience to customers. In future we will expand our services to other sectors and regions.”

    From his experience, Tanaka, who moved to Vietnam in 2015 as CEO of a pizza chain, found that procurement operations were mainly labor-intensive and inefficient.

    “We believe that technology can solve this problem, providing solutions to reduce the cost of personnel in a transparent and accurate manner,” he said.

    The Ho Chi Minh City-headquartered business-to-business procurement platform, established last June, now has more than 4,000 product categories, 120 partner suppliers and 200 registered restaurants.

    While Kamereo will focus its resources on Vietnam for now, it is planning a series A round of funding involving a few million U.S. dollars in late 2019 or 2020 to expand in Southeast Asia.

    The funding came amid a technology startup boom in Vietnam’s F&B market where delivery platforms such as GoViet and Grab battle for market share down the supply chain.

    A report published last October by Vietnam Research said Vietnamese spend more than a third of their income on food and beverages ahead of education and utilities.

    Global research firm Nielsen also considered F&B one of the most attractive industries, with the potential to become a major player in the Vietnamese economy, citing findings from one of its studies which found food and beverages were two of the 10 most bought products online in 2017.

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  • Storefront opens in Korea

    Storefront opens in Korea

    Storefront, the world’s largest online marketplace for short-term retail space, has officially launched in Seoul. Retail vacancy rates in Korea are on the rise due to a prolonged recession, and more brands are diverting their interests from traditional retail to offer a quality experience to customers in the form of pop-up stores and short-term leases. Storefront has partnered with the Korean marketing and retail firm Kcent to register qualified spaces, sign up leading and emerging brands and give them tools to successfully market their short-term space. The Storefront site will now offer thousands of spaces across Seoul available for pop-up stores, showrooms, and event spaces.

    Storefront maintains a global presence with thousands of quality retail spaces across the world’s largest cities from Paris to London, New York and Hong Kong. This advantage allows any brand to pop-up in any location, test new markets and even launch simultaneously in more than one location worldwide.

    Retail sales in Korea totaled $343 billion in 2016, and this latest partnership in Seoul signals Storefront’s break into the East Asian market with their brand, technology and insights combined with local talent and market expertise.

    “Korea is APAC’s 3rd largest retail market, and most of it is based in Seoul. Pop-up stores and other forms of short-term rentals are already creating a buzz in the trend-savvy Korean market.

    All we needed was a transparent and efficient marketplace like Storefront to leverage this trend.” said Jin Yong Kim, Kcent’s CTO.

    “Korea has a unique culture and language barrier that make it hard for foreign brands to expand their business here. But if they have the right partner and know how to tell their story to Korean consumers, it can be a matter of a few days before they go viral.” adds Kim.

    “Storefront is redefining how companies can locate and activate temporary retail space with its global marketplace for connecting tenants and property owners in an efficient, flexible and transparent way. We are excited to partner with Kcent to bring our expertise to this fast-growing retail capital and introduce the benefits of pop-up stores to thousands of merchants looking to expand into Korea.” said Benoît Clément-Bollée, General Manager, Storefront Asia .

  • Lotte Duty Free sales hit all-time high of US$6.7 billion in 2018

    Lotte Duty Free sales hit all-time high of US$6.7 billion in 2018

    South Korea’s top travel retailer Lotte Duty Free reported best-ever sales of 7.5 trillion won (US$6.7 billion) last year on a surge in online sales and mass purchases by Chinese merchants seeking trade in shuttling goods to China. Lotte Duty Free said its annual sales last year hit a record high of 7.5 trillion won, up 25 percent from a year-ago period. In particular, sales from the online business soared 50 percent on year to 2 trillion won, contributing 25 percent to its total domestic sales thanks to successful upgrades of its online and mobile platforms and various promotional perks like online-only products and discount options.

    Lotte Duty Free’s main store in the bustling shopping district of Myeongdong in downtown Seoul remained the world’s single-largest revenue earner for three years in a row last year with annual sales up 35 percent at 4 trillion won and daily revenue at about 11 billion won as of Dec. 14.

    The Myeongdong store that opened in 1980 has kept on growth with sales reaching over 1 trillion won in 2011, 2 trillion won in 2015 and 3 trillion won in 2016 on increasing demand from individual merchants from the mainland who buy popular Korean duty-free goods in bulk to profit from reselling them in China.

    Lotte Duty Free has expanded its investment in domestic stores to draw more consumers. Its Myeongdong store was expanded in August 2016, and spent 10 billion won to add the Star Lounge for VIP customers in April 2018. The World-Tower store in the affluent Gangnam area of southern Seoul also posted 1 trillion won in sales last year, becoming the largest earner to reach the threshold in the district.

    Meanwhile, Lotte Duty Free World Tower also posted sales of more than 1 trillion won (US$895.4 million), joining what the retailer dubbed the “One Trillion Club” on 23 December.

    That represents an 80 percent increase year-on-year for the Jamsil, Seoul store, which reopened on 5 January 2017, 193 days after it was forced to close on 26 June 2016 due to the loss of its licence in an open tender.

    “Even in the midst of rapid market changes, Lotte Duty Free has been able to achieve a record-breaking year, reflecting 38 years of operational expertise,” said newly appointed Lotte Duty Free CEO Lee Kap. “As a leader in the industry, we will endeavour constantly to improve our performance.”

    Lotte Duty Free said that the World Tower store’s excellent tourist services and differentiated luxury brand offer had generated “remarkable achievements” in 2018. This was despite the proliferation of new duty free stores in the Gangnam area [notably the new Shinsegae Duty Free store opened on 18 July], the retailer commented.

    Despite industry difficulties posed by the THAAD dispute between South Korea and China, sales of small and medium enterprise SME Korean brands at the World Tower store increased by 300 percent year-on-year. This contributed to a “win-win relationship” with SMEs, Lotte said.

    Increased demand by daigou shoppers “greatly influenced” sales said Lotte. The retailer noted that such travellers had compensated for the “stagnation” of conventional Chinese tourism since the THAAD dispute erupted in March 2017. However, Korean travel retail executives and observers are closely monitoring the impact of China’s new e-commerce law, introduced on 1 January 2019, which is expected to hit the daigou business hard

  • India’s Rocking Deals plans 500 stores

    India’s Rocking Deals plans 500 stores

    India’s Rocking Deals is planning to launch 500 retail stores within next five years. The move by the online retail electronics marketplace follows the opening of the brand’s first offline store in Agra (Uttar Pradesh) last month, with up to 20 stores planned for the state in the near future. “We have chalked out an all round growth plan, be it online or offline,” said founder & CEO Yuvraj Aman Singh. “With our new retail stores, the company plans to weed out inefficiencies, lack of certified products in the market, and under or overvaluation of pre-owned products.

    “We would like to tap all major markets of smaller towns and cities through our offline market strategy.”

    The company has already signed with 27 retail franchises in various states, including Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Odisha, Punjab and others.

    “The refurbished market is to rise by a compounded 27 per cent over 2019-20, as large players are joining through their existing online marketplaces such as Amazon and Flipkart, which posted surging growth in annual sales, and we too wanted to significantly capture the market through our organised channel,” added Singh.

    Rocking Deals was founded in 2012 and to date has sold close to 4 million refurbished and pre-owned units in 18 categories to end customers.

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  • AEON Thailand and Mastercard celebrate new year with promotion

    AEON Thailand and Mastercard celebrate new year with promotion

    Mr.Nuntawat Chotvijit (2nd from left), Executive Director of AEON Thana Sinsap (Thailand) Public Limited Company together with Mr.Donald Ong (2nd from right), Country Manager Thailand and Myanmar, Mastercard joined hands to give away a special year-end promotion for AEON Mastercard credit cardholders. With every spending of 1,000 Baht, customers will be entered win a 3 days 2 nights Singapore travel package that includes an Economy Class roundtrip to Singapore, by Singapore Airlines” accommodation at the Resorts World™ Sentosa Universal Studios Singapore™, along withfun-filled experience at world-class theme parks such as Universal Studios Singapore and S.E.A. Aquarium™ A total of 10 prizes will be up for grabs (2 people/prize) worth a combined value of 700,000 baht.

     

  • Samsung cooperates with Apple

    Samsung cooperates with Apple

    Samsung Electronics is teaming with arch-rival Apple to enable its smart TVs to access video, audio and other programming from iTunes. It is the first time the two have cooperated on content. The partnership was announced Monday. Beginning this spring, Samsung smart TVs will have iTunes movies and TV as a default option, along with YouTube and Netflix. For customers with older versions of Samsung smart TVs, the service can be added with a software update.

    Apple’s new movie and TV streaming service is set for official introduction in March. Samsung Smart TVs will be the first non-Apple devices to have access to the service.

    Another feature to be made possible on Samsung TVs is AirPlay 2, a function that allows for wirelessly access to movies, photos, podcasts or music from Apple devices.

    Until recently, before Chinese manufacturers became smartphone leaders, Apple and Samsung competed intensely for domination in the market.

    The two were also embroiled in a seven-year patent battle that was only concluded last year.

    Despite the rivalry, they have continued to do business with each other. Samsung has supplied Apple with smartphone chips and displays.

    At an event held in Las Vegas Monday before the Consumer Electronics Show 2019, the president of the Samsung visual display business, Han Jong-hee said that the collaboration is a “win-win” for both companies while customers will benefit from a wider range of choices.

    “For now, the collaboration will be about content. But in the future, I expect there to be other fields in which we can work together as well,” said Han. According to another senior executive at the event, the project was initially suggested by Samsung.

    The company suggested that it is open to partnerships with other companies as well, saying in a press release that it aims to minimize the barriers between products and providers to offer a “rich selection of content.”

    For Samsung, Apple programming will give it an upper hand in attracting customers.

    The war in the TV market is now as much about what is available on devices as it is about brighter, more colorful and slimmer panels. How TVs seamlessly link to online resources is one of the major battlegrounds.

    The partnership also reflects how Apple is increasingly putting weight on services instead of hardware – the reason it came up with the iTunes video streaming service. Global iPhone sales are falling short of expectations as customers don’t change phones as frequently as before and many are being turned off by the high prices.

    Samsung brings with it the strength of being No. 1 in the global TV market, with more than a 40 percent share.

    “We look forward to bringing the iTunes and AirPlay 2 experience to even more customers around the world through Samsung smart TVs, so iPhone, iPad and Mac users have yet another way to enjoy all their favorite content on the biggest screen in their home,” said Eddy Cue, senior vice president of Internet Software and Services at Apple.

  • New Michael Kors to increase focus on Asia

    New Michael Kors to increase focus on Asia

    With the completion of its acquisition of Versace, global fashion group Michael Kors Holding has successfully transitioned into its new identity as Capri Holdings Limited. The group, which now owns Michael Kors, Jimmy Choo and Versace, hopes to leverage its brands to grow group revenue to US$8 billion, while increasing its exposure to the Asia pacific region from 11 per cent to 19 per cent.

    The group also notes an effort to reduce its exposure to the American market, from 66 per cent to 57 per cent, in the long term.

    “We have now created one of the leading global fashion luxury groups in the world,” Capri chairman John D. Idol said.

    However, considering the past performance of these brands, one cannot be certain whether this merged entity can turn them around says IBISWorld senior industry analyst Kim Do, though “Capri Holdings seem confident in their ability to do so.”

    “While many are concerned about the company diffusing its newly acquired brands, similar to that of its own, this is unlikely as, similar to Jimmy Choo’s agreement with Kors Holdings, Donatella Versace will continue to remain the creative director [of] her namesake brand, leading the brand’s creative vision,” Do said.

    “However, while it is likely that Versace will be pushed into new avenues of revenue (such as a stronger focus on Asian markets) it will likely not include mass-retailers – which is how Michael Kors expanded previously.”

    According to Do, IBISWorld expects Capri to hold off on further acquisitions for the time being, and will most likely focus on growing the three brands it now hold in its portfolio.

    In November 2018, the group saw total group revenue decline 32 per cent to $189.76 million (US$137.6 million), from $279.81 million (US$202.9 million) the year prior, which GlobalData Retail managing director Neil Saunders called “disappointing”.

    “Although overall revenue growth looks robust, it continues to be flattered by the acquisition of Jimmy Choo, which has yet to annualise out,” Saunders said.

    “In short, after slowly climbing the steep hill of recovery, Michael Kors now appears to be rolling back down in reverse.”

    Saunders also said the acquisition of Versace could prove to be a distraction that limits the group’s abilities to fix the core problems within it’s main brand.

    In November 2018, the group saw total group revenue decline 32 per cent to US$137.6 million, from US$202.9 million the year prior, which GlobalData Retail MD Neil Saunders called “disappointing”.

    “Given Michael Kors’ relative lack of success with its own label, we do not see the group being able to [easily] undertake the retooling required to generate superior results.”

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  • Samsung to release feature-rich phone to take on Huawei

    Samsung to release feature-rich phone to take on Huawei

    Samsung is releasing a phone with robust functions specifically designed to meet the challenge posed by Huawei. It has fast internet speeds — utilizing 5G wireless — is foldable and has an innovative screen design. Last year’s smartphone market can be summarized in one sentence: Apple’s defense, Huawei’s catch-up and the fall of Samsung Electronics.

    According Counterpoint Research, Apple’s share in the super high-end smartphone market, those priced over $900 (880,000 won), was 79 percent in the third quarter of 2018. In the $600-$900 market (660,000 to 880,000 won), Apple (61%) surpassed Samsung Electronics (21%) by a large margin, and in the $400-$600 range (440,000 to 660,000 won), Huawei (17%) was right behind Samsung (25%).

    At this critical moment, Samsung Electronics celebrates the 10th anniversary of the release of its “Galaxy” smartphone. The Galaxy Black came to market in April 2009. A new Galaxy S10, a commemorative issued for the anniversary, will be unveiled at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2019 in Barcelona, Spain this February. The name of the new S10 is “Beyond.”

    Samsung’s says it wants to outdo itself with the latest release.

    In the new S10, Samsung’s Infinity-O Display will be embedded. The display has a small hole in the screen for the selfie lens, so almost the entire face of the device is screen. The proportion that is screen is more than in Apple products, which utilize more real estate for the lens.

    The fingerprint-identifying sensor does not require separate hardware, but is found within the screen. The sensor itself utilizes Qualcomm ultrasonic-wave technology, which can identify prints that are less readable due to water or soil on the screen. Instead of scanning the user’s iris, the new model will utilize facial recognition, as is done with iPhones.

    It is expected that Samsung will maintain the 3.5mm-earphone jack, which has been scrapped on iPhones. It will also be 5G capable, allowing for a 1.5-gigabyte movie to be downloaded in less than a second. Samsung announced last month it will supply the world’s first 5G phones to Verizon and AT&T.

    Huawei is expected to release its own 5G phone in the first half of the year.

    Early versions of the new Galaxy S10, to be released in February, will not be 5G capable. It is possible that the S10 with a 5G communications chip will be released separately, as was done with the Galaxy S5 broadband LTE-A model, which was separately released in 2014.

    It was expected that LG Electronics will release its 5G smartphone this April or May, but it changed its goal for release to late March. Apple might not equip new iPhones, which will be released this year, with a 5G-communications chip.

    A telecommunications industry source said, “Apple originally did not really care about the speed of telecommunications that much. Apple might embed 5G in the iPhone in fall.”

    Smartphone competitors are seen pushing foldable phones in 2019. According to market research firm Strategic Analysis (SA), shipments of foldable smartphones globally will increase gradually from 3 million in 2019 to 14 million in 2020, and ultimately to 30 million in 2022.

    Chinese phone market Royole released a foldable first, in October last year, ahead of Samsung Electronics and Huawei. Royole will release its 7.8-inch Flex Pie foldable phone at the 2019 Consumer Electronics Show (CES), to be held in Las Vegas from Jan. 8-Jan. 11. Royole led the market but has received criticism about the quality of its device.

    The Galaxy foldable phone will be released in February. It will have a 7.3-inch screen as well as a 4.58-inch screen. The initial run will be about 1 million units.

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  • Mattel to launch BTS doll this summer

    Mattel to launch BTS doll this summer

    Toy retailer Mattel has announced a comprehensive, worldwide licensing agreement with popular South Korean boy band BTS. The creative collaboration will debut the first-ever line of BTS fashion dolls this summer. Under a multi-category license with BTS under its label, Big Hit Entertainment, Mattel will create dolls, collectible figures, games, and more. The collaboration will launch with a toy line created to resemble the band’s seven members – RM, Jin, Suga, J-hope, Jimin, V and Jung Kook – styled after their looks from the YouTube record-breaking “Idol” music video.

    “BTS is a pop-culture music phenomenon that transcends age, culture and language, and through this partnership, Mattel will offer a new way for millions across the world to engage with the band,” said Mattel’s SVP & global brand GM Sejal Shah Miller.

    “Partnering with established franchises that have global appeal is a cornerstone of our strategy and given our creative expertise, we are perfectly suited to create products celebrating BTS”.

    The BTS fashion dolls were unveiled at this week’s Hong Kong Toys & Games Fair.

  • Smart Garments: The next big thing in sportswear

    Smart Garments: The next big thing in sportswear

    Fitness wearables are no longer just a matter of wrist straps or pieces of practical jewelry. Such technology now works via our clothing. Smart garments are all set to supercharge the fashion industry in the years to come. We are fortunate to have been living in an era which will go down in history as the apogee of technological advancement.
    Technology is an indispensable part of our life today. It has thoroughly morphed all aspects of human life — right from the way we communicate,travel, exchange information to the way we eat, live and drink. Hence, it is but only natural that technology has heralded a propitious change in the way we dress and clothe ourselves today.

    After the huge success of fitness wearables like Apple Watch, Fitbit, Polar fitness monitors, etc., etc., smartness and intelligence is progressively making inroads into the clothes we wear. The fashion world, more so in the last few years, is abuzz with words like wearable technology, smart garments, intelligent garments, e-textiles, etc.

    Although used interchangeably, in a broad sense, they all refer to any piece of clothing with integrated sensors and digital components. The integrated technology monitors the physical conditions of the user and uses big data analytics to predict and show the results.Newer smart clothing technologies can also sense and monitor the environment condition as well.

    GROWTH DRIVERS

    A recent survey by the World Economic Forum (WEF) reveals that 92.1 percent of corporate leaders believe 10 percent of people will wear clothes connected to the internet by 2025, and 85.5percent believe 105 percent of eyewear will be internet connected.

    Growing use across various industrial verticals such as sports and fitness, healthcare, military and defense is driving the smart clothing market globally. The rising demand for monitoring body activities through sensors is expected to surge the demand for smart clothing market over the forecast timespan. Growing awareness among individuals regarding fitness is providing an impetus to the industry growth. In addition, the inclination of athletes towards the use of these products to prevent injuries and optimize their performance will have a positive impact on the business. Additionally, incorporation of newly developed and advanced fibers such as nanofibers and hybrid materials is expected to drive the growth of smart clothing market.

    THE MARKET SIZE

    As per the US based global market research and management consulting company Global Market Insights Inc., the size of the smart clothing market was over US$ 150 million with shipments of around 800,000 units in 2016. The market is expected to balloon to over US$ 4 billion by 2024, and shipments are forecast to grow at over 50 percent CAGR.

    Smart t-shirts are emerging as one of the most popular and widely used categories of this segment in recent times. Projected to grow at over 50 percent CAGR from 2017 to 2024, these smart garments can provide biometric data such as heart rate, breathing rate and volume, muscle activity, etc., which are utilsed to optimize performance and workout plans professionally. Smart jackets are set to witness growth over the future owing to the ability of these products to control the mobile devices of the wearer and connect to several services such as music and camera, device charging, etc., directly from the jacket.

    Military and defense applications are predicted to witness high growth with a CAGR of over 55 percent from 2017 to 2024. In order to gain visibility into the health of a soldier as well as crucial battlefield insights, various government institutions are investing heavily to develop technologically advanced military uniforms.

    The US smart clothing market, the biggest hitherto in the world, is estimated to witness huge adoption and will dominate the industry with the significant revenue share. Increasing investments by various sports associations to eliminate the possibility of any preventable injuries of highly paid professional athletes is expected to fuel the industry growth.

    The Asia Pacific smart clothing market is expected to witness substantial growth over the forecast timespan. This can be attributed to the growing adoption of various wearable devices coupled with the increasing demand for advanced features in the products. In addition, rising security concerns and increasing military and defense budgets across countries such as India and China is predicted to witness huge demand for these products.

    THE INDIAN SCENARIO

    The smart garments segment is still in its nascent stages in India, and very under-developed compared to its peers in the Asia Pacific.

    The Indian ecosystem is just experiencing the advent of wearable technology and while the initial focus is mainly on the fitness and healthcare sector, there is a lot of scope for innovation in the existing product line – such as gamification, introducing social incentives to encourage community / group adoption as well as building an augmented product by providing a comprehensive set of services and charging based on usage. There are immense opportunities in the other sectors as well.

    Here is a look at some of the best Indian companies who are shelling who are breaking new ground in the smart garment industry:

    SYGNAL – Hyderabad based startup, Broadcast Wearables Pvt Ltd. is an AI based wearables company on a mission to make everyday devices smart. It is the parent holding of SYGNALS who has the distinction of producing the world’s first touch- enabled t-shirt.

    Loaded with a bunch of sensors packed in a small chip, the brand’s smart t-shirts are equipped to track a plethora of things including, the number of steps taken in the entire day, calories burnt even in the slightest form of exercise, floors climbed, distance walked or run. It can also navigate the wearer to a desired location. All the data is synched through Bluetooth to the app, and can be viewed for at least three days.

    LECHAL – Hyderabad based Ducere Technologies Pvt Ltd., is another noteworthy name in the field of Indian smart fashion. The company’s offering Lechal uses GPS to track down the users location through a GPS linked app, which then sends vibrations to his soles, thus telling him which turn to take. Built into the shape of a small pod which comes fitted into insoles, it functions through an app installed on a smartphone. The app also allows the user to keep a record of his route and tracks the steps taken, the distance travelled and the calories burned. The pods have a claimed life of 15 days on each charge.

    BOLTT – Boltt is a ‘sports tech-brand’ that is developing next generation consumer-centric solutions for personal health & fitness. Known for its advanced artificial intelligence (AI) ecosystem, Boltt provides ‘connected fitness solutions’ bundled with the hardware.The hardware includes smart shoes, stride sensor and activity tracker. The Boltt sensor is powered by Garmin’s patented SDM Technology. Boltt’s AI is aimed at solving problems in health and fitness coaching by providing real-time audio feedback and provides customised workout suggestions. As of now, there are Boltt’s wearables portfolio encompasses such as Boltt Fit, Boltt Beat, Boltt Beat 2.0, Boltt Ace, Boltt Verve Luxe, etc.

    ARROW – Popular shirt brand Arrow from Arvind Ltd., launched its first smart shirt and India’s first smart garment in 2016. The Smart Shirt comes with an inbuilt chip on the cuff that can be programmed by downloading the Arrow mobile app on a near field communication (NFC)-enabled smartphone. The Smart Shirt allows the wearer to share things like his LinkenIn profile, his Facebook profile or visiting card through a tap on the shirt’s cuff with a smartphone. Among other functions it performs are connecting via Bluetooth to play your favourite songs on the phone or switching your phone to ‘meeting mode’.

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  • Lululemon opens first store in Macao

    Lululemon opens first store in Macao

    Located in Macao’s bustling premier leisure resort, The Venetian Macao, which is home to world-class casinos, hoteliers and luxury shopping. The store is set to transform the traditional shopping experience with 2,110 square feet of retail, fitness, and community experience unlike any other in Macao. The overall aesthetic of the store is classic and refined. Inspired by the blue sky and the grand canal in Venetian Macao, with touches of golden tone and sun elements throughout the store. The fitting room area also features blue tone to highlight the color of local Macao, as well creating a separated and private area for guests.

    The retail space showcases the premium athletic apparel retailer’s full collection of innovative technical products for run, cycling, yoga, water pursuits and everything in between. The store also features our signature pant wall, designated to help customers find the right pair based on different sensations.

    Behind the cash desk features large digital screens showcasing product stories and the store ambassador films. Next to the cash desk is a community board where guests can find information on complimentary workshops they can partake in, as well discover local fitness and cultural points of interest curated by lululemon’s local team.

    A space to stretch, sweat, connect and enjoy the latest collections, lululemon’s Venetian Macao store has been created to offer you retail space with a difference, helping you escape from the buzz of the city and find stillness, happiness, and above all fun.

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