Ganesh Subramanian, Chief Operating Officer at Myntra.com, has been given a new responsibility as Head – New Initiatives with immediate effect. Confirming the development, Subramanian told BusinessLine: “As a company, we are thinking long term. Therefore, we are investing to look at continuously creating unique value for customers by challenging the way the fashion business is run at present. For instance, it takes 12-15 months to deliver fashion products from concept to retail to consumers; why should it take so long?”
Tag: Management
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Fast Retailing Japan reports double-digit growth
In the first fiscal quarter ended 30 November,, the Japanese clothing giant Fast Retailing has totaled revenues of JPY479.5 billion yen (USD4 billion) , an increase of 23 percent over the same period before . For the full year , the management estimates that sales will reach the level of JPY1.6 trillion yen (USD13.5 billion) , an increase of 15.7 percent. In quarter operating profits of the Japanese group were up 39.9 percent to JPY91.3 billion (USD770.7 million) and earnings reached JPY68.8 billion (USD580.8 million) ( + 63.9 percent) .
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American Apparel bans work romances
What do you do if you manage a company that has just ousted its founder following a string of sexual harassment allegations? The answer is to ban workplace romances – at least according to the fashion chain American Apparel.
The retailer has barred managers from relationships with “subordinates”, while any romantic entanglement between staff “where one person may have perceived or actual influence over the other’s terms of employment must be disclosed by the participants to the Human Resources Department”, according to the group’s new code of conduct.
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Tesco’s opening salvo in 2015: Price cuts
UK supermarket giant Tesco PLC has announced “difficult changes” to its business at the start of the year, including the closure of 43 stores, lower prices on the country’s favourite brands, flat investment in payroll, and significant revision to its store building program and reduced capital expenditure budget.
“I am very conscious that the consequences of these changes are significant for all stakeholders in our business but we are facing the reality of the situation. Our recent performance gives us confidence that when we pull together and put the customer first we can deliver the right results,” said Tesco Chief Dave Lewis.
This came at the heels of group sales for the 19 weeks to 3 January 2015 declining by 0.6 percent at constant rates, including fuel and by 1.9 percent, including fuel.
In Asia, total sales for the 19 week period declined by 1.5 percent at constant rates, with like-for-like sales declining by 4.6 percent.
It said market conditions across the region remain challenging. In Thailand, sales trends improved over the period as we annualized the impact of the external pressures linked to political disruption last year. In Korea, a higher number of enforced Sunday closures under the DIDA opening regulations affected the performance of all large retailers.
Speaking to Jody Hodges, Group Project Planning Director at Tesco, in a video interview, Lewis said there are three priorities now: recovering the competitiveness in the core UK business, protecting and strengthening the balance sheet, rebuilding the trust and the transparency in the brand and the business.
On 8 January, Tesco cut prices on hundreds of branded products in response to demands from customers for simpler, lower and more stable prices.
“We know that brands are important to our customers: they’re the products families don’t want to do without. So from today, customers will be able to buy many of their favourite products cheaper at Tesco – from Tetley Tea to Colgate Triple Action Toothpaste, Hovis White Bread to Kellogg’s Cornflakes,” said Tesco’s Chief Customer Officer, Jill Easterbrook in a statement.
She added that overall, the company is cutting the prices of around 380 branded products by an average of 25 percent.
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Wumei seals majority stake in B&Q China
Beijing based supermarket chain Wumei Holdings will pay CNY1.4 billion (USD225 million) for a majority stake in home decorating chain B&Q China whose parent Kingfisher failed to spur growth in the home decoration market in the world’s second-largest economy.
The all-cash takeover will be subject to approval from China’s Ministry of Commerce, and is set to complete in the first half of 2015, Kingfisher said in a statement yesterday.
Xu Zhicheng, an analyst with Guotai Junan Securities, said Wumei could leverage its overall data management system and dealers’ network within the country to boost B&Q’s performance.