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Tag: Living

  • Courts Asia continues negative trend as Malaysian sales tank

    Courts Asia continues negative trend as Malaysian sales tank

    Takeover target Courts Asia had a forgettable third quarter, reporting a net loss of S$171,000 – a stark contrast to the $3.51 million profit for the same period a year earlier. The company blamed lower sales and gross-profit margins together with higher income tax expenses.

    Group sales fell 6.2 per cent to $175.3 million, largely due to a 22.2 per cent decline in Malaysian sales measured in ringgit with lower consumer demand for goods and services.  Singapore sales, which account for three-quarters of the business’ overall sales, slipped a negligible 0.7 per cent, while the company’s Indonesian woes continued. Although the market accounts for just 3.4 per cent of Courts Asia’s sales, revenue fell 7.3 per cent in local currency. Courts Asia is already taking steps to stem losses in Indonesia, recently announcing the closure of one of its megastores and the downsizing of another.

    Japanese electronics retailer Nojima Corp lodged a takeover bid for Courts Asia last month, conditional only on the formal acceptance by Courts Asia’s majority shareholder  Singapore Retail Group, which has already indicated its acceptance. The Japanese company plans a strategic review of the business and will consider delisting it.

    Meanwhile, Courts Asia says it will continue to endeavour to improve efficiencies in its Malaysian business to improve productivity and return to profit. Twelve underperforming stores have already been closed reducing the network to 54.

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  • Marks & Spencer India to open six more stores in next 60 days

    Marks & Spencer India to open six more stores in next 60 days

    British multinational retailer Marks & Spencer (M&S) is on an aggressive pace here and is opening six more stores in the next two months alone, a top company official has said.

    According to a report, Marks & Spencer has opened its first store here way back in 2001 and in April 2008 signed a joint venture agreement with Reliance Retail to form Marks & Spencer Reliance India.

    It now has 71 stores across 30 cities like New Delhi, Amritsar, Mumbai, Pune, Kolkata, Bangalore, Chennai, Kochi, Bhopal, Kanpur, Hyderabad and Chandigarh among others.

    “India has become increasingly an important market for us. We are now the largest market for M&S outside of our home market. We are 71 stores today and we continue to invest in this market. We opened nine stores in the last six months and it is our intention to open six more in the next 60 days,” James Munson, managing Director, Marks & Spencer Reliance India said in an interview.

    Internationally, Marks & Spencer hawks its products in 57 markets across 400 stores and an online presence in 33 markets.

    Munson further said they would look to maintain that expansion pace in the next year as well and said, “there are no other markets which are expanding the way we are expanding here”.

    Of the 71 stores here, 10 are standalone beauty and lingerie stores , including two it opened in the last nine months and said half of the stores it plans to open in the next 60 days would also be for the same.

    The company clocked a revenue of Rs 908 crore last year and has been growing at a CAGR of 24 percent over the last five years, Munson said.

    It had clocked a 9 percent growth in the same store sales last year.

    A fifth of the turnover comes from outside the major metros, he said.

    It sources 30 percent of its products from locally and India is a sourcing base for the wider British market as well.

    M&S has partnered with other e-commerce players like Amazon and Flipkart over the last few years and he said its a strong area of growth and this year they are expecting 75 percent growth in online sales.

    However, the contribution from online to its revenues is still quite small here, unlike in Britain where it’s targeting 30 percent online sales.

    M&S has developed a rethink campaign specifically for this market, a first globally where a campaign has been designed for the local market.

    In Britain, food is a popular segment for the company but Munson said there are no plans at present to introduce food here.

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  • Miniso teams up with cartoon network’s Adventure Time

    Miniso teams up with cartoon network’s Adventure Time

    Miniso has teamed up with Cartoon Network to present an epic 264-item collection of Adventure Time products in its stores across 62 territories around the world. From Europe to Asia, and Africa to North America and South America, the retailer is stacking its shelves with items featuring iconic characters including Finn, Jake, BMO and Lumpy Space Princess.

    Launching this month as part of a phased global rollout, Adventure Time fans will be able to enjoy an immersive in-store experience with the collection, which will be comprised of plushies, stationery, gifts and accessories such as backpacks and cosmetics. In the near future, the collection will add even more items as well as expand to additional territories.

    “The scale of this range demonstrates the popularity and enduring qualities of the Adventure Time franchise globally,” said Vikram Sharma, Vice President of Cartoon Network Enterprises, Asia Pacific.

    “Miniso has been a great partner for us. And when they wanted a brand that could provide young fans with an instantly-recognizable and fun association, Adventure Time was the obvious, mathematical choice!”

    Meanwhile, a new wave of merchandise from We Bare Bears – another Cartoon Network property – will also be in stores alongside Adventure Time.

    After impressive sales during the initial collaboration during 2018, more than 200 new and refreshed Bears’ items will be available in Miniso stores this month.

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  • Chinese tourists prefer Australia, Japan and Singapore: Survey

    Chinese tourists prefer Australia, Japan and Singapore: Survey

    Mainland Chinese tourists prefer visiting Australia, Japan and Singapore over Hong Kong, a survey has found, citing a preference for outdoor and nature activities in these places. Consultancy firm Kantar, which polled 300 people from Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, found that 52 per cent of respondents were interested in Australia as a holiday destination, followed by 40 per cent for Japan, 38 per cent for Singapore, and 35 per cent for Hong Kong.

    Some 22 per cent said they were keen to visit Taiwan, compared to 21 per cent who favoured South Korea, 15 per cent for Indonesia and 9 per cent for India.

    “Urban Chinese holidaymakers are looking for a diversity of experiences – nearly nine in 10 say that having lots to do is either important or very important to them,” stated the report, released last month.

    “The dominance of nature in the minds of urban Chinese leisure travellers may, at face value, present a challenge for retailers, malls, theme parks and other places.”

    The report stated that the trend could be an indication for businesses on potential growth directions.

    Despite Hong Kong not being the top destination for Chinese tourists in the poll, official figures showed visitor arrivals in the city – driven mainly by mainlanders – soared to a record high of 65.1 million last year, up 11.4 per cent from 2017.

    About 51 million tourists from across the border visited the city in 2018, a rise of 14.8 per cent from the previous year.

    But the Tourism Board has admitted that 2019 could be a “bumpy and unpredictable” year. Chinese tourists now see the city as a short-term destination, and they prefer Southeast Asia or Europe for long holidays.

    The board said Chinese tourists also craved “in-depth” travel in Hong Kong rather than the usual hotspots. One of the board’s strategies this year will be to attract mainland and overseas visitors to places such as the Geopark, the Ha Pak Nai mudflat in Yuen Long and Lau Fau Shan.

    The Kantar report also stated: “Hong Kong outperforms Singapore on most factors, but when it comes to perceptions of safety and cleanliness, Singapore dominates all [Asia-Pacific] markets, though it is held back by its lack of nature and outdoor [activities].”

    It acknowledged that Hong Kong had a “relative abundance of natural attractions” compared to the Lion City.

    On preferences for nature and outdoor activities in the eight destinations listed in the survey however, only 22 per cent of respondents indicated an interest in what Hong Kong had to offer, compared to 62 per cent for Australia, 42 per cent for Japan, 32 per cent for Indonesia, 31 per cent for Taiwan and 29 per cent for Singapore.

    In the category of sporting events, only 27 per cent said they were interested in those held in Hong Kong, with 47 per cent for Japan, 43 per cent for Australia, 30 per cent for Singapore, and 28 per cent for South Korea.

    Kantar’s group director, Mike Underhill, suggested that to boost Hong Kong’s attractiveness as a tourism haven, unique sporting events could be held, such as a mountain marathon.

    “I’m not saying it’s an easy thing to do, but if such an event is created, it will [capitalise on] an emerging trend among Chinese tourists to help grow a niche sector, thereby raising the perceived uniqueness of Hong Kong.”

    Jenny Zhang, 29, an accountant from Beijing, is among those for whom Hong Kong does not rate highly as a destination.

    “I would choose other places because I have visited Hong Kong several times already. But if I am in transit here to somewhere else, I would visit the city,” she said. “The world is huge and there are many places I have not been to. I love to see natural attractions and take in the culture of other places.”

    Asked to rank the eight destinations in the survey, Zhang placed Hong Kong in last place. Her top choices were Australia, Japan and Indonesia.

    But Chen Peng, 36, from Tianjin is among those who still enjoy coming to Hong Kong after visiting the city six times. This month, he took his daughter to Disneyland for the first time.

    “My wife loves Japan and so I would choose Japan as my top choice. For me though, Hong Kong is my No 1 choice,” he said.

    “When I come, I mostly go shopping with my wife and meet friends. I would go to Harbour City and Central.”

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  • RM25b export target for wood-based products achievable: Malaysian Council

    RM25b export target for wood-based products achievable: Malaysian Council

    The Malaysian Timber Council (MTC) remains optimistic that Malaysia will achieve its RM25 billion export target for wood-based products by 2020 despite a fragile global trade and economy caused by the US-China trade war. “We believe that the RM25 billion target is still achievable notwithstanding the potential headwinds that may come along the way, for instance Brexit, US-China trade war and other regional conflicts,” MTC CEO Richard said.

    “The good part about the timber and wood industry is that a lot of Malaysian businesses are very innovative, and they respond to changes quite quickly, in terms of adjusting to the changing needs and demands and also the challenges of the industry as well as economy,” he added.

    To recap, the Ministry of Plantation Industries and Commodities (MPIC) had in 2017 reduced the wood-based exports target from RM53 billion to RM25 billion due to shortage of raw materials.

    Yu said the RM25 billion target is more “realistic”, noting that the previous RM53 billion target was first formulated prior to the 2008 global financial crisis.

    “The planning and the formulation of the strategy was before that (the financial crisis). At that point of time, even in terms of the exchange rate was pretty favourable to us from ringgit terms perspective.

    “And looking at last year’s numbers, I think to get another incremental of about RM1 billion-RM2 billion for another three years should be quite realistic,” he added.

    The timber industry’s contributed RM23.2 billion to the government coffers in 2017, up 4.8% compared to last year’s figures.

    As at August 2018, the export figures had reached RM14.57 billion, in which the wooden furniture, plywood, sawn timber, fibreboard and builders’ joinery and carpentry are the main revenue generators for the sector.

    However, Yu noted that there is concern raised by the industry players on the potential Chinese products dumping.

    “That will obviously have an effect on our exports. But I believe the Ministry of International Trade and Industry is monitoring this issue closely,” he said.

    At present, Malaysia exports timber and timber-based products in over 160 countries.

    Moving forward, Yu said the country’s commitment in maintaining its forest cover at above 50% will ensure that the timber industry remains sustainable in the long-term.

    The MTC was established in January 1992 to facilitate the local industry players and promote the development and growth of the timber industry.

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  • IKEA’s first India store sold more despite lower than anticipated footfall

    IKEA’s first India store sold more despite lower than anticipated footfall

    Swedish home furnishing multinational IKEA’s first India store here witnessed less than expected footfall during last six months but the spending by the buyers was more than what it anticipated, said a top company official on Thursday. IKEA’S Hyderabad store, which opened in August last year, said it was originally looking for 7 million footfall a year but it is now 5 million a year.

    “The ambition was to have more footfall. We imagined higher visitation but the same time we see many positive categories. People are buying more items and they are spending more money. We are selling more pieces. This is good for IKEA because we are volume driven company. They are spending and buying more than we anticipated,” said John Achilles, Hyderabad Store Manager, IKEA India.

    He told reporters that products with a volume of 80,000 square metres were sold but declined to share the numbers in terms of value.

    Terming the people’s response as amazing, Achilles said it was a great learning experience. “We learnt so much about market, so much about customers and about their buying habit.”

    According to Achilles, customers in India were price sensitive. “Low priced items are those selling in much higher volumes. People want great value for money for products both accessories and furniture.”

    Kallas spoon set, priced at Rs 15, the lowest at the store, has been the number one selling item during last six months. “We sold half a million of those in six months. There is no other store in the world that sold this kind of volumes,” he said.

    He said IKEA’s range of products were lowest in many categories in the market. While 95 per cent of the products sold in India were the same available at IKEA stores around the world, about five per cent were specifically meant for India. These products included spoons, “tawa” and other accessories.

    Achilles was talking to reporters on the sidelines of the launch of made in India textile collection, Anglatarar, by by IKEA.

    IKEA opened first store five years after the world’s largest single brand retailer received government approval in 2013 to invest Rs 10,500 crore to open 25 stores in India by 2025. The company last year revised the number of stores to 40 across all formats.

    Achilles said they would open the next store at Mumbai during 2019 while Bengaluru store would come up in next 24 months and this would be followed by New Delhi.

    On sourcing from India by IKEA, he said this had gone up to 19 per cent while it was less than 10 per cent before the launch of first store.

    The sourcing has to go up to 30 per cent in five years as prescribed by the government of India, the official said, adding that they were looking to go beyond 30 with ambition to reach 50 per cent.

    Mia Olsson, Country Communication and Interior Manager, IKEA India, said: “This collection mark the celebration of design aesthetics from both countries.” She termed it as a tribute to India.

    IKEA’s Hyderabad Stores Food Woes Resolved

    After a gap of nearly five months, vegetarian biryani returned to the menu of Swedish home furnishing retailer IKEA here on Thursday.

    In September last year, IKEA’s had stopped selling vegetarian biryani at its store here found a foreign object in a dish.

    “Today is the first day we have started reselling vegetarian biryani,” said John Achillea, Hyderabad Store Manager, IKEA India.

    He said that they were making this dish in house and it is available for Rs 99 like in the past.

    IKEA’s first India, which is completing six months in February, was earlier sourcing prepared veg biryani from Haldiram of Nagpur.

    The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) had fined the IKEA store Rs 11,500 after a customer lodged a complaint that he found a caterpillar in veg biryani served to him at the IKEA restarurant.

    The furnishing giant subsequently removed the veg biryani from its menu and stated that it takes food safety and quality very seriously.

    IKEA opened its first India store here on August 9. It has a 1,000-seater restaurant.

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  • Hiring persons with disabilities in India’s retail sector up by 53 percent

    Hiring persons with disabilities in India’s retail sector up by 53 percent

    Only 36 per cent of disabled persons in India are employed, of which 90 per cent are in the unorganized sector, said a new report by Trust for Retailers & Retail Associates of India (TRRAIN) here on Wednesday. The report – ‘Disability Employment: Indian Retail Changing Equations’ – said that as per Census 2011, the number of persons with disabilities was 2.21 per cent, or 26.8 million of the total population.

    However, the actual number in India could be between 5-10 percent, belying the Census figures, said TRRAIN.

    Around 50 per cent of the disabled population in the country was in the employable age of 20-59 years but jobs remain a problem for them as nearly 46 per cent are illiterate.

    Though 36 per cent are employed, almost 90 per cent have jobs only in the unorganized sector. And mainstreaming them could add around 5-7 to the country’s GDP, the report said.

    It noted that hiring persons with disabilities in the retail sector had gone up by 53 per cent between 2011 and 2018, but there was more scope to employ and mainstream them as there existed a positive correlation between customers and stores manned by the disabled.

    The report said that with 80 per cent jobs in retail ‘customer-facing’, employing the disabled PwDs serves the dual purpose of providing employment and sensitising the society at large about the challenges encountered by the disabled.

    The report was released at the 3rd Retail Inclusion Summit held here by TRRAIN founder B.S. Nagesh in the presence of big names from the retail industry.

    TRRAIN also runs an initiative ‘Pankh’ that trains and prepares disabled persons for employment opportunities in the retail sector.

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  • Indonesia Prepares New Strategy to Meet 2019 Tourist Arrival Target

    Indonesia Prepares New Strategy to Meet 2019 Tourist Arrival Target

    When President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo set out to double Indonesia’s foreign tourist arrivals within the five years of his presidency, many were skeptical. Now, the target seems to be within reach. Combined government efforts that included the massive development of airports and tourist destinations, aggressive digital promotions and a visa-free policy have, along with the weakening rupiah, attracted 16,2 million foreign tourists to Indonesia last year, which is 71 percent more than four years ago.

    Still, some setbacks were unavoidable. A series of volcanic eruptions, earthquakes and tsunamis over the past 12 months, as well as the tragic crash of Lion Air flight JT-610 into the Java Sea near Jakarta, resulted in the government missing its target to woo 17 million foreign tourists last year.

    Industry players worry that the bad image created by these disasters would take long to erase and thus undermine the country’s ability to attract 20 million foreign tourists this year.

    “Indonesia is situated on the Ring of Fire; we could not predict or prevent any disaster. What we need now, is to work extra hard to ensure that the world knows that when disaster strikes here, all tourists and local residents are well cared for,” said Elly Hutabarat, chairwoman of the Indonesian Travel Agent’s Association (Astindo).

    She cited Mexico as an example of a country that had just been hit by an earthquake, but still managed to quickly revive its tourism industry.

    “We see Mexico, which had just experienced an earthquake, is responsive and is able to give up-to-date information to the world. Such efforts are able to quickly revive their tourism industry,” Elly said.

    Border Tourism, Low-Cost Terminals

    The government has not given up, as the tourism industry could potentially generate $20 billion in foreign exchange revenue this year, which is crucial to plugging the country’s persistent current-account deficit.

    Guntur Sakti, head of communications at the Ministry of Tourism, said the government has implemented a strategy to meet this year’s tourist arrival target by developing border tourism, hub tourism and the renovation of airport terminals to cater to low-cost carriers.

    The government’s border tourism plan is aimed at making it easier, faster and cheaper for tourists to visit Indonesia from neighboring countries.

    Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines also have a similar cultural heritage and history as Indonesia.

    “The potential from border tourism is massive, especially from neighboring countries,” Guntur said.

    Through the hub tourism strategy, the government expects to attract a larger number of foreign tourists that travel to the capitals of neighboring countries, specifically Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore.

    The government estimates that more than 11 million foreign travelers – excluding Indonesians – transit at Singapore’s Changi Airport annually before continuing their travels to other countries for business or leisure. Guntur said this represents a massive potential for Indonesia.

    He added that tourists frequently transit in Singapore or other cities in the region because of limited direct flights to Indonesia from Europe, the United States and even parts of East Asia.

    For instance, about half of all Chinese tourists heading to Indonesia must transit in Singapore or Malaysia before reaching the archipelago, while 80 percent of tourists from Thailand and Malaysia are able to reach the country via direct flights.

    The government also plans to renovate several terminals at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport outside Jakarta to exclusively accommodate low-cost carriers.

    Terminal 1 at the airport will soon only cater to passengers of low-cost airlines traveling to domestic destinations, while Terminal 2 will cater to passengers of low-cost airlines on both domestic and international flights.

    Many countries have built terminals or even whole airports to specifically accommodate low-cost airlines. This lowers the airport’s operating budget, which in turn helps to reduce airport taxes and airline ticket prices, which ultimately attract more foreign tourists.

    Guntur said at least 70 percent of foreign tourists use low-cost carriers to travel to Indonesia.

    “To realize our strategy and attract more tourists, we are working with state-owned airport operator Angkasa Pura to renovate Terminal 1 and 2 at Soekarno-Hatta Airport. We’ve noticed many countries operate several terminals that cater to full-service carriers and low-cost carriers separately,” he added.

    The number of passengers traveling to Indonesia on low-cost carriers grows by about 55 percent annually, while the number of passengers arriving on full-service airlines only increases by about 7 percent per year, according to tourism ministry data.

    Ten New Balis

    The government also actively promoted its “10 New Balis” program last year to develop and promote several destinations beyond Bali, Indonesia’s most popular destination.

    The 10 New Balis include Mandalika in Nusa Tenggara, Thousand Islands in Jakarta, Tanjung Lesung in Banten, Tanjung Kelayang in Bangka Belitung, Borobudur Temple in Central Java, the Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park in East Java, Labuan Bajo in East Nusa Tenggara, Wakatobi in Southeast Sulawesi and Morotai in North Maluku.

    The project, spearheaded by the tourism ministry, has also established programs to develop each of the destinations by building 5,000 homestays, improving infrastructure, increasing financing for tourism to around Rp 2.5 trillion ($177 million), implementing sustainable tourism in 16 destinations, developing 10 special economic zones and developing nomadic tourism.

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  • New integrated resort in China by Fosun

    New integrated resort in China by Fosun

    Fosun bets on integrated resorts to address the needs of Chinese travelers, who are showing interest in these types of experiences. Fresh from its Hong Kong initial public offering last month, Fosun Tourism Group is making good on its intention to use the proceeds to develop two new integrated resorts in China, announcing properties under the Thomas Cook Group brands Casa Cook and Sunwing.

    The two projects are in Lijiang, Yunnan province, famous for its UNESCO World Heritage old town, and Taicang, Jiangsu province, 30 minutes from Shanghai.

    Fosun Tourism chairman and CEO Jim Qian told Skift he is seeing different segments emerging in China’s domestic travel market. While this is already the norm in mature western markets, it’s just starting in China, and there’s a need to offer local travelers a choice of hotel brands and a variety of experiences, said Qian.

    In so doing, Fosun is turning to what’s in the family, its own Club Med and its Thomas Cook China joint venture. The Lijiang Albion International Resort will also have a Club Med, which has “a different positioning” from the boutique, design-led Casa Cook, he said.

    The whole development in Lijiang is spread over at 350,000 square meters (382,765 square yards). It is located near the Baisha old town, which lies closest to the majestic Yulong Snow Mountain, and is the only land permitted for massive development.

    How it will be sensitive to the tranquil and preserved ancient surroundings remains to be seen. For now, its website says it aims to attract mid- to high-profile guests by offering the total package, including a Club Med snow-themed resort, a guesthouses town, riverside shows, heritage towns, outdoor activities, health and wellness.

    “We will deliver a lot,” said Qian. “I believe in the future when a family goes on a holiday, they don’t just want to stay in the room.

    “Nowadays in China, we have more resort hotels in destinations such as Sanya, but most are actually business hotel brands moving from the city to the beach. I don’t think that kind of hotel is suitable for a family holiday. We will introduce the real beach or holiday resort to a destination.”

    Not much is known of Fosun’s other resort project in Taicang except that it is smaller at 145,000 square meters (158,570 square yards).

    Both are expected to be completed in stages from late 2020.

    Fosun Tourism, whose slogan is Everyday is Foliday (short for Fosun holiday), having tested destination development and management with its fully owned Atlantis Sanya, is keen to bring the experience to bear on the projects.

    “We have the experience in the construction of resort destinations, and we know how to make foreign brands suitable for the Chinese market,” said Qian.

    Fosun Tourism also believes the timing is good. It pointed out the per capita tourism expenditure in China in 2017 was about $575, which was below the global average of $741. “This implies the great potential for the growth of China’s tourism market,” it said.

    Besides, it claimed to be in a stronger position now, announcing ahead of its annual results to be released in March that it expects a net profit of at least 350 million yuan ($52 million) in 2018, compared with a net loss of 295 million yuan ($44 million) in 2017.

  • Vietjet to open Phu Quoc-Hong Kong route in April

    Vietjet to open Phu Quoc-Hong Kong route in April

    Budget airline Vietjet said Saturday it will launch direct flights between Phu Quoc Island and Hong Kong in April. The new route will operate four flights per week starting from April 19, Vietjet said. Each flight will take 2 hours and 45 minutes per leg. Dubbed “the Pearl Island”, Phu Quoc, located in the southern province of Kien Giang, has attracted strong investments in hotels and resorts in recent years.

    Vietjet said it wants to create traveling opportunities for locals and tourists, thereby contributing to trade growth between the two destinations. The largest private airline in Vietnam currently operates 40 domestic routes and 66 international routes.

    Vietnamese airlines have been launching new international flights in recent years, with the domestic market showing signs of saturation.

    The country’s aviation industry has seen increasing demand each year. It welcomed 12.5 million air passengers last year, up 14.4 percent from 2017, according to the General Statistics Office.

    Vietnam’s aviation traffic increased 16 percent on average each year from 2010 to 2017, data from the civil aviation regulator shows.

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  • Ride-Hailing Firms Enjoy Growth in Indonesia, but Face Fraud Challenge

    Ride-Hailing Firms Enjoy Growth in Indonesia, but Face Fraud Challenge

    Grab and Go-Jek, two of Southeast Asia’s biggest technology startups, have successfully grown their food delivery and ride-hailing services, but both must pay special attention to better detection of fraudulent orders, a recent study by Spire Research and Consulting Indonesia showed.

    The local unit of the Tokyo-based research company surveyed driver partners and customers to establish what ride-hailing services they prefer, based on various criteria, including consumer awareness, usage frequency and the use of e-money.

    Grab Leads in Product Usage

    Based on Spire’s consumer awareness survey, 75 percent of respondents said they used Grab’s services over the past six months, while 61 percent indicated that they had done so in the past three months.

    For Go-Jek, it was 62 percent and 58 percent, respectively.

    “Regardless, 50 percent of respondents agree that both Grab and Go-Jek are their favorite brands,” the consultancy said.

    Regarding product usage frequency, customers more often used Grab’s services than those of Go-Jek in the last quarter of 2018.

    The survey also found that 34 percent of GrabCar customers were more likely to use the service three to four times a week on average, while for Go-Car, 25 percent of customers were more likely to use the service once or twice a week on an average.

    Grab Leads in Four-Wheel Segment, Go-Jek Leads in Two-Wheel

    On the other spectrum of the survey, it found that Go-Jek’s Go-Ride was still the customer favorite, with 64 percent saying that they use the service once or twice a day, while for Grab it was 58 percent.

    “When it comes to food delivery, Go-Food is in the lead with 35 percent of respondents saying Go-Food was the brand they most often used, but Grab is catching up quickly with 27 percent saying they used GrabFood the most,” Spire said in a press release on Tuesday.

    E-Money

    As of 2018, both services introduced the use of e-money to facilitate digital payments.

    Grab launched an e-payment service in cooperation with OVO, while Go-Jek established its own, Go-Pay.

    “Based on the survey results, OVO usage exhibits strong O2O [online-to-offline] usage, while Go-Pay’s strength is in Go-Jek’s mobile app ecosystem. For example, OVO is the preferred payment for offline items like phone balance, parking bills and bills for nonfood merchants, while Go-Pay is used to pay food-merchant bills [Go-Food] and electricity bills through the Go-Jek app,” Spire said in the statement.

    Natural Selection

    Indonesia has seen monumental growth in the ride-hailing sector over the past few years, with the mergence of dozens of startup companies. However, natural selection resulted in only two surviving and dominating the market.

    Indonesia is still a magnet for tech companies, including ride-hailing services, thanks to the high consumption rate and mobility of its citizens.

    The two survivors have seen intense competition, with both drastically increasing their product offerings.

    Their services such as food delivery and ride-hailing are similar in nature, but the two companies’ more unique offerings are distinguishing factors.

    Fraud

    Spire said the most interesting finding of its study was the prevalence of fraud.

    “The most interesting finding by Spire is the existence of fraud and how the drivers perceive it,” Jeffrey Bahar, group deputy chief executive of Spire Research and Consulting, said in the statement.

    Spire said fraud in online ride-hailing services is an open secret among drivers and that most who commit it gave similar reasons for doing so, which is to increase their monthly earnings.

    Fraud is seen as a major threat to the industry as it results in economic losses to the companies and highlights vulnerabilities in their systems.

    Spire’s research showed that nearly 30 percent of Go-Jek’s total transportation orders might be fraudulent, compared with 5 percent for Grab.

    “This is based on an estimation of fraudulent orders against total orders. This is a systemic problem for both companies and one that Go-Jek needs to address,” Spire said in the statement.

    According to Spire’s driver survey, “as of 2018, nearly 60 percent of Go-Jek’s drivers say they commit fraud on a daily basis to boost their order numbers, which affect their bonuses and daily income.”

    The drivers who were surveyed said Go-Jek’s system was easier to trick by using applications that modify their location data. On the other hand, less than 10 percent of Grab’s drivers admitted to committing fraud.

    Grab’s drivers said the company’s system was not easy to trick and that the sanctions imposed for such offenses was a deterrent. Drivers also commented that both companies had been improving their systems to better detect fraud.

    “Overall, both companies are growing rapidly in food delivery and ride-hailing but special attention must be paid to the issue of fraud to ensure the healthy development of the technology ecosystem in the country,” Spire said.

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  • Daiso to set up regional distribution centre in Malaysia

    Daiso to set up regional distribution centre in Malaysia

    PKT every24 Logistics Sdn Bhd (PKT) signed a service agreement with Daiso Industries Co Ltd (Daiso) to operate the latter’s regional distribution centre (RDC) located in Port Klang, commencing in the second quarter of this year. PKT is a joint venture company between PKT Logistics Group Sdn Bhd and Daisei every24 Co Ltd. Incorporated in February 2016, it was set up by both parties to explore joint business opportunities in Malaysia.

    PKT said in a statement, in order to serve Daiso in this RDC, it will be constructing a purpose-built warehouse at an estimated investment cost of RM250 million while creating 500 new jobs for the state of Selangor.

    PKT said it shall be providing Daiso haulage, freight forwarding and warehousing services for their transshipment and local cargo, reaching approximately several hundred containers per month.

    Meanwhile, Daiso president Seiji Yano said the group is confident that PKT will be a valuable logistics partner for the group to better serve its outlets and customers across the Middle East and Southeast Asia.

    “We are truly honored by Daiso’s confidence in Malaysia’s logistics capability but most importantly Daiso’s confidence in PKT to deliver quality logistics service to their outlets,” PKT chairman Datuk Wira Jalilah Baba said.

    Daiso is a specialty store retailer of private label products offering a vast lineup of up to 70,000 superior quality products.

    Headquartered in Hiroshima Japan, Daiso has more than 5,270 stores worldwide, served by 17 distribution centers located in Japan, China and Thailand.

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  • Korean Air swings to net loss in 2018 from 2017 profit

    Korean Air swings to net loss in 2018 from 2017 profit

    Korean Air Lines said Tuesday it swung to a net loss in 2018 from a year earlier due to hefty foreign-exchange losses. The Korean flag carrier posted a net loss of 167.59 billion won ($150 million), after a net profit of 801.9 billion won a year earlier. As the dollar rose to 1,118.1 won at the end of 2018 from 1,071.4 won at the end of 2017, foreign-exchange translation losses reached 363.6 billion won and it cut into the annual earnings results, the statement said.

    The won’s weakness also drove up net interest costs to 454.8 billion won, up 55.5 billion won from the previous year, it said. Operating profit fell 28 percent to 676.33 billion won last year from 939.78 billion won a year ago. Sales climbed 7.7 percent.

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  • Palm falls as data shows slower exports

    Palm falls as data shows slower exports

    Malaysian palm oil futures fell last week, after data from a cargo surveyor showed exports grew more slowly than expected in January. The benchmark palm oil contract for April delivery on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange dropped 0.2% to RM2,299 a tonne. Trading volumes stood at 24,751 lots of 25 tonnes each.

    “The export numbers released are below yesterday’s (Wednesday’s) market rumour. The ringgit’s strength also pushed the market lower,” a Kuala Lumpur-based trader said, adding that the coming long holiday weekend should prompt traders to cover short positions. “That should limit any big sell-offs,” the trader said.

    Cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Services said yesterday exports of Malaysian palm oil products for January rose 14.7%, while independent inspection company AmSpec Agri Malaysia reported a 15.5% increase.

    Palm oil may slide into a range of RM2,256-RM2,274 per tonne, as its correction from the Jan 28 high of RM2,333 looks incomplete, Wang Tao, a Reuters market analyst for commodities and energy technicals said.

  • Korean firms team up on insurance

    Korean firms team up on insurance

    SK Telecom, Korea’s top mobile carrier, and Hyundai Motor will jointly enter the insurance business, partnering with Hanwha General Insurance to bring their technology expertise to the industry. The Financial Services Commission (FSC), the country’s top financial regulator, said Wednesday it has given preliminary permission for SK Telecom, Hyundai Motor and Hanwha General Insurance to build an online insurance company that primarily deals with miscellaneous non-life insurance on digital platforms.

    “If the process goes smoothly, it can open in the fourth quarter of this year,” said a spokesperson at SK Telecom.

    In six months, the investing units are required to raise the promised capital, complete recruiting and have the physical operation in place, after which it will file for final approval.

    The companies said the unit will focus on cars, pets and travel.

    Hyundai Motor said the insurer will develop a product that differentiates insurance fees depending on a policy holders’ mileage and other driving behavior. Also on the cards is a system that discounts fees when subscribers are found to drive in a safe manner by adopting a real-time analytical technique to monitor driving habits.

    The insurance firm aims to carve out its own niche with lower fees and relatively short contracts.

    “We want to offer attractive alternatives for consumers who found existing insurance products expensive and requiring long-term commitment,” said Jang Yoo-seong, head of the artificial intelligence (AI) and mobility division at SK Telecom.

    The idea is based on InsurTech, a combination of insurance and technology that has quickly risen to prominence in the global financial industry.

    According to a study by the Korea Insurance Research Institute, the market has been rapidly growing in recently years. Investment in InsurTech start-ups, which amounted to $2.6 million in 2013, surged to $11.9 billion in 2017.

    The global InsurTech market revenue is valued at $532.7 million in 2018 and is expected to reach $1,119.8 million by 2023, according to Research and Markets, a U.S. market tracker.

    Hanwha General Insurance will raise 75.1 percent of the capital while SK Telecom puts in 9.9 percent. Hyundai Motor invested 5.1 percent and Altos Ventures Korea, an investment firm, 9.9 percent.

    In total, the companies will funnel in a total of 85 billion won.

    If passed, the new insurer will be the country’s second internet-only insurance company after Kyobo Life Planet.

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