Retail News CRM

Tag: marketplace

  • H&M tries its luck in billion dollar 2nd Hand Clothing Market

    H&M tries its luck in billion dollar 2nd Hand Clothing Market

    Fast-fashion brand H&M is testing its fortunes in the fast-growing used-clothing market.

    The Swedish brand has commenced sales of second-hand clothing in response to consumer concerns about the environmental impact of the fashion industry.

    H&M’s head of sustainability Anna Gedda says the program is being piloted in Sweden with a view to a more substantial rollout in future.

    “It comes back to the whole circular vision,” she said. “It just makes great sense to look into this business. We see this as a growing part of the industry, with great opportunities both for consumers and not least for the environmental impact, and how we can drastically reduce that by extending the life of the products.”

    The used-clothing market is expected to reach US$51 billion, double its current size, within the next five years.
    Last year, a BBC documentary portrayed fashion as one of the world’s most polluting industries.

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  • Australia’s C/MEO Collective Lifts Off on Tmall

    Australia’s C/MEO Collective Lifts Off on Tmall

    Women’s fashion label C/MEO Collective has started selling on Chinese online marketplace Tmall.

    The move is part of a broader strategy of parent company Australian Fashion Labels to focus on China.

    “China is now really at the forefront of retail innovation and we see localisation of channels as crucial to being relevant in this market,” said Dean Flintoft, Australian Fashion Labels founder and chairman, in a statement.

    Prior to launching on Tmall, C/MEO Collective was already stocked in approximately 300 brick-and-mortar stores across Greater China, along with Australian Fashion Labels’ other brands: Keepsake The Label, Finders Keepers and The Fifth.

    But with more than 700 million people shopping on Alibaba’s retail marketplaces, including Tmall, this represents a significant expansion in reach.

    According to the company’s statement, C/MEO Collective was chosen because it is the brand with the greatest appeal in the China market, thanks to its innovative signature style, premium fabrics and approachable price point.

    “With C/MEO already having gained such strong traction in China via social media and via its marketplace presence, we wanted to respond to the enthusiasm for the brand and make it more accessible to our customer base in China,” said Mei Ping Doery, CEO of Australian Fashion Labels China.

    C/MEO Collective showcased the first of its collections for Tmall at VAMFF in Melbourne on March 8.

    While demand for Australian brands and products in China is most concentrated in areas such as health and wellness, beauty and food, and wine, fashion brands are increasingly seeing success.

    Brands including Seafolly and Lorna Jane have made headway in China through Tmall, and the addition of C/MEO Collective suggests there is a market for more fashion-forward Australian design.

    Australian Fashion Labels was founded in 2007 by Dean and Melanie Flintoft with the introduction of Finders Keepers. The company has since developed C/MEO Collective, Keepsake, The Fifth and Jaggar.

    The brands are available in 1700 stores worldwide, including major department stores, as well as to customers directly through an online retail platform, which ships globally.

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  • MyDeal pivots to home wares deals

    MyDeal pivots to home wares deals

    As the online marketplace space becomes more crowded, Melbourne-based startup MyDeal plans to shrink to greatness – when it comes to product categories, that is.

    Like many marketplaces, the e-commerce company founded in 2012 by Australian entrepreneur Sean Senvirtne was initially focused on growing its customer database, supplier numbers and range. In 2017, with 1000 sellers and 25,000 products on the site, it expanded into new categories – fashion and travel – and diversified its offering with the launch of a fintech product.

    But now, MyDeal is paring back its business to focus on the furniture and homewares space, an area where the company has always had a natural strength, according to head of marketing, John Barkle.

    “Prior to the massive expansion of products, those were our strongest categories. I think it’s because we have the best price and range, and we’re very good at moving products that are big and bulky,” Barkle told.

    Today, MyDeal claims to have more than 500,000 products on its site. It aims to surpass one million within the next six months by bringing on board new sellers in the furniture and homewares space, a goal that should be made easier by its recent integration with ChannelAdvisor, a US-based e-commerce company that helps businesses list their products on marketplaces such as eBay, Amazon and now MyDeal.

    “This is a significant milestone in the business that signifies 12 to 18 months’ worth of work to get the technology right on our marketplace platform,” Barkle said.

    MyDeal’s marketplace technology is bespoke, and Barkle acknowledged that, in the past, this may have presented a barrier to sellers wanting to join the platform. Listing products on a marketplace can be a time-consuming and labour-intensive process, depending on the marketplace’s information requirements, the number of products the seller wants to offer and the availability of software to automate the process.

    Since solving its technical issues and narrowing its focus, Barkle said MyDeal is now positioned for rapid growth. But the e-commerce company may face new obstacles in its pivot to furniture and homewares, which puts it in direct competition with some much larger and more established players in the niche, such as Temple & Webster. The listed retailer recently reported $49.3 million in revenue in the six months to December 31, a 40 per cent increase on the previous year.

    Barkle declined to share any earnings figures for MyDeal, which is a private company, but said the retailer recently became profitable.

    “We run a very low-cost model, meaning we can pass on those savings directly to the customer,” Barkle said. “Where we intend to compete is on providing a unique experience that improves discovery and satisfaction.”

    MyDeal recently launched a “shop and earn” program that Barkle said is unique among Australian marketplaces. It allows customers to earn credits that they can then put towards later purchases every time they buy something on MyDeal. The amount of credits they earn depends on the seller they buy from, which is designed to encourage healthy competition among sellers to drive sales. Barkle said the site has seen a substantial increase in customer retention since launching the program three months ago.

    Barkle also spoke obliquely about using technology to bring customers as close to touching and feeling the product as is possible online, something that other online retailers, including Temple & Webster, have flagged as being possible with augmented and virtual reality. But like its competitors, MyDeal mostly seems content to let demographics play to its advantage.

    “We believe the penetration of online sales into furniture and homewares will substantially increase over the next five to 10 years, driven by millennial consumption,” Barkle said.

    Housing slump weighs on homewares

    Whether this will be enough of an insulating factor for MyDeal and other online furniture retailers to weather the current housing slump is up for debate. In its monthly trading figures for January 2019, the ABS reported a 0.2 per cent drop in household goods retailing, the only industry sub-group to fall in the month.

    At the same time, MyDeal’s strategic move away from the general marketplace arena, where online “department store” retailers like Catch and now Kogan.com are competing with the likes of eBay and Amazon across a wide range of categories, may prove to be less effective in the long run, as competition among niche marketplaces increases.

    Jason Wyatt, co-founder and managing director of Marketplacer, a software company that provides marketplace technology to businesses, said retailers, brands and manufacturers are beginning to adopt a marketplace mentality to extend their ranges without the burden of owning inventory.

    “That previously hasn’t existed,” he told.  “I don’t think there’s room for 20 mega marketplaces in Australia, but I think we’ll see more niche marketplaces that aim to be ‘something’ for ‘somebody’.”

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  • Afterpay starts cross-border payments

    Afterpay starts cross-border payments

    Buy now, pay later provider Afterpay is enabling shoppers to make cross-border payments through the service, following a successful trial.

    The feature means that businesses that offer Afterpay at checkout will now be able to offer the payment method to customers in other countries where Afterpay is active.

    The feature is initially limited to Australian and New Zealand businesses, where a combined 2.7 million people use Afterpay, but will eventually be extended to include businesses in the US and later the entire Afterpay network.

    “We are confident that [this] will add value to our retail partners, and open up the opportunity for them to seek and delight new customers from different countries,” Afterpay chief executive Nick Molnar said.

    “Customers will be able to pay directly in their currency and not be hit with any additional foreign exchange fees after the payment is processed.”

    The payment provider also will remove the complexity of foreign exchange, through a proprietary global payments solution that allows funds to be settled in their country of origin.

    Afterpay’s support for cross-border payments is expected to be a boon for online retailers looking to grow their sales outside of the domestic market.

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  • Kogan looks to cash in on marketplaces

    Kogan looks to cash in on marketplaces

    Online retailer Kogan.com announced the launch of Kogan Marketplace on Thursday, calling it a “win-win” for customers and businesses.

    The marketplace currently offers more than 100,000 products from brands such as Microsoft, Breville, Lego, Fisher-Price, Paw Patrol, SodaStream, Gillette, Gucci and Philips.

    That number is set to grow after today, when brands can apply to sell via the marketplace. According to Kogan.com’s most recent annual report, select brands and distributors were already selling on the marketplace in the 12 months to 30 June 2018.

    “With today’s launch, there are now over 100,000 products available to purchase on Kogan.com — meaning customers have more choice than ever before,” Lazar Monin, Kogan.com’s director of marketplace, said in a statement. “Our mission is to make the most in-demand products and services more affordable for all Australians.”

    The marketplace gives brands and retailers access to more than 1.5 million active customers on Kogan.com, as well as the retailer’s marketing and online distribution capabilities.

    “We’re obsessed with creating a great experience at Kogan.com for our customers and sellers alike,” Monin said.

    The marketplace also gives Kogan.com an opportunity to expand its range, reach new customers and increase sales, without having to buy and hold inventory or lose margin to the new low-value GST, which has dampened its global brands business over the last eight months.

    The potential for growth through an online marketplace is perhaps best demonstrated by Kogan.com’s rival Catch, which has seen significant success since launching a marketplace in 2017. The former ‘deal-of-the-day’ site now carries nearly two million SKUs and has roughly the same number of active customers as Kogan.com.

    According to a UBS forecast reported by the Australian Financial Review in October 2018, Kogan.com currently has a bigger share of the online retail market excluding food in Australia, but Catch, thanks to its marketplace, was expected to leapfrog Kogan.com to grab a bigger share of the market after FY19.

    Meanwhile, Catch has been diversifying its offering into telecommunications and financial services, a strategy that Kogan.com has been executing in a bid to meet more of its customers’ needs. Catch last year launched mobile phone plans with Optus called Catch Connect, and recently partnered with Now Finance to offer small personal loans to customers.

    Kogan.com has been launching similar services for the past few years and now has a portfolio of insurance offerings, credit cards, internet plans and even superannuation.

    The online retailer recently reported record trading during the peak Christmas period, driving first-half revenue to $231.8 million, up 10.6 per cent on the previous corresponding period. Gross profit in the half was $45.1 million, up 10.8 per cent on first-half trading in FY18.

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  • Facebook’s unannounced mobile payment service shows up

    Facebook’s unannounced mobile payment service shows up

    Facebook’s Marketplace seems to be one of the few successful features launched by the social network giant in the last couple of years. Now, Facebook plans to add an important tool that will make the entire Marketplace experience smoother and easier, at least this is how we’re seeing things at first glance. A mobile payment service that will allow Facebook users to pay for goods they buy through Marketplace is already showing in the Android and iOS app. A new Pay with Facebook option is now available on some Facebook pages that sell various products (i.e. Marshmello Music).

    The new option supports various payment methods that use Visa and Mastercard, as well as cryptocurrency, though the latter seems just a placeholder for now since we don’t recognize the symbol.

    At the moment, the whole process seems a bit convoluted because the buyer must first send a request to the seller, who will then have to accept or refuse the offer and send another payment request to the buyer.

    Although it sure doesn’t sound like a seamless process, Pay with Facebook may at least offer Marketplace users a more secure (and free) method of payment. We’re still waiting for Facebook’s official announcement to learn more about the new mobile payment service, but we can’t guarantee it will ever come.

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  • V-MORE Enters Thailand’s E-Commerce Market With More Than 500 Marketplace Platforms and Merchants

    V-MORE Enters Thailand’s E-Commerce Market With More Than 500 Marketplace Platforms and Merchants

     V-MORE, Asia’s leading e-commerce supply chain management platform, has announced its plans to expand into Thailand. Over the pasts 12 months, the fast-growing one-stop e-commerce platform which has already garnered 500,000 users in the region.  V-MORE aims to recruit new Thai e-commerce merchants as part of its expansion strategy and has rolled out onboarding programs for new merchants and users.

    “We are pursuing a plan of expansion and hope to achieve revenue growth through mass adoption by users and merchants in our ecosystem. Thailand is fast becoming the leading e-commerce market, and we seek to increase our user and merchant base through user incentive programs, brand awareness and marketing programs,” said Sir Eldee Tang, CEO and Founder of Noble Vici Group.

    V-MORE is a one-stop marketplace for high quality products which are value for money. Its unique shop, save and earn program has gained the trust of many online shoppers. Through V-MORE, consumers can shop and be rewarded at over 500 marketplace and shopping sites including leading online brands, hotel and flight booking sites, technology as well as food and beverages merchants. Thai merchants can participate in its e-commerce program and increase their exports to other countries in Asia and beyond.

    According to research, there are more than 57 million internet users in Thailand who are well-versed with digital technologies, mobile and e-commerce. The market is valued at USD 3.5 billion and is expected to generate revenue growth rate of 13.2% annually, reaching USD 5.8 billion by 2022.

    “We look forward to new local merchants to come on board our platform and welcome sellers and buyers to experience the online marketplace for the first time,” Eldee added.

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  • Trade Me valued below bid offer

    Trade Me valued below bid offer

    Online marketplace Trade Me has seen its shares independently valued at between $5.93 to $6.39 per share, below the standing offer of $6.45 per share made by Titan to acquire the business in December 2018. Titan, which is owned by private equity fund Apax Partners, proposed to acquire 100 per cent of Trade Me shares by way of a scheme of arrangement. With the valuation, the offer will potentially pay shareholders a premium.

    The independent valuation was carried out by adviser Grant Samuel & Associates Limited, which was appointed by Trade Me to assess the merits of the offer by Titan.

    Shareholders are expected to vote on the matter on 3 April 2019, online or in-person in Wellington, with Trade Me recommending that shareholders vote in favour of the scheme.

    Though at least 75 per cent of shareholders need to vote in favour of the scheme, it must also be approved by the High Court of New Zealand, as well as the Overseas Investment Office.

    Should the vote go through, and all necessary conditions are satisfied, the scheme is expected to be implemented on or around the 8 May 2019.

    The marketplace turned 20 earlier this week, with chief executive John Macdonald noting he is “humbled that [1.8 million] Kiwis still visit us everyday.”

    “This is a big moment for us… our platform has given thousands of Kiwi entrepreneurs an opportunity to make their own business and reach an audience they’d never have found without us,” Macdonald said.

    “Many a garage across the country was converted into a new online business and a number of those have grown into substantial stores which still sell with us today.”

    Macdonald had initially intended to step down after 15 years at the business in December 2018, though agreed he would stay on until past the end of 2018 in order to help facilitate the takeover.

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  • HKT Payment adds marketplace to mobile wallet

    HKT Payment adds marketplace to mobile wallet

    HKT Payment has launched a new virtual store within its Tap & Go mobile wallet to allow customers to purchase online game virtual gift cards.

    The new Tap & Go Marketplace will offer a wide range of gift cards including Google Pay Gift Codes, PlayStation Network, Xbox and hvmod cards.

    Once payment is complete, a PIN will be instantly installed within the Tap & Go marketplace that can be easily redeemed on the respective online marketplace.

    “We are excited to launch the Tap & Go Marketplace and extend the service to better meet the needs of the game-savvy segment,” HKT Financial Services head Monita Leung said.

    “Not only does online purchase via Tap & Go Marketplace give customers full control over their spending and peace of mind with secure payments, but it also offers gamers greater convenience and a seamless experience.”

    The launch follows the introduction of the Faster Payment System in September that allows customers to instantly top up their mobile wallet.

    Leung said HKT Payment plans to continuously expand the gift card categories available over Marketplace to cover music, videos and software.

    HKT Payment secured Hong Kong’s second ever stored value facilities license in 2016.

  • How to get the right online pricing strategy in 2019

    How to get the right online pricing strategy in 2019

    More than 70 per cent of e-commerce retailers are leaving money on the table – and it all comes down to a single digit in their online pricing strategy.

    ‘Left-digit bias’, or the economic behavior where consumers use the leftmost-digit of a price tag in guiding their decision making, is an age-old observation in the brick-and-mortar world. (For example, $5 is perceived as significantly more expensive than $4.99, while $4.99 is perceived as just one cent more than $4.98.)

    While this concept isn’t new – research was conducted as early as 1936 – with consumer spending increasingly moving online, the more pressing question now is whether the same principle can be applied to online businesses.

    It turns out the answer is “yes.” In looking at more than six years of anonymised data from 100,000+ online businesses operating on Stripe, we discovered that the left-digit bias holds the same sway over consumers online, as it does offline. And this is especially acute across subscription businesses models, such as media streaming services and even software-as-a-service.

    Today, more than 70 per cent of online businesses worldwide are not taking advantage of this pricing model, potentially costing their businesses millions of dollars. Meanwhile, online merchants that have made the switch to an optimal pricing model stand to gain a potential revenue uptick of several percentage points or more.

    Here are some key takeaways for online businesses looking to tune up their pricing strategies in 2019 and take advantage of left-digit bias:

    0 is the most popular pricing strategy:

    Despite the popularity of prices ending in 9 offline, the most popular pricing strategy for online merchants is actually 0. The only exception here were items priced in euros.

    Pricing ending in 9 are only second-most popular, with 27 per cent of subscription prices ending in 9.

    Prices ending in 5 are also popular, perhaps because the number is an optically pleasing midpoint.

    While these are the patterns for pricing among merchants, it does not mean that they are optimal for consumers, as we’ll see below.

    It’s time to bring back 9:

    Cross referencing merchant pricing with merchants that received the most website traffic and those that are VC-funded revealed that more sophisticated businesses are more likely to set prices ending in 9 compared to other online businesses.

    While correlation doesn’t equal causation, it is reasonable to assume that these more ‘popular’ businesses are likely larger, more well-funded, or have made it a priority for them to analyse a different online pricing strategy.

    This could be an opportunity for smaller firms that do not have the same resources to analyse pricing strategies to take advantage of the left-digit bias identified by their larger or better funded counterparts.

    .

    Left-digit bias applies to luxury items too:

    There is a widely-held opinion that only sale items should end in 9. However, this misconception may actually be causing merchants to miss out on significant gains.

    According to the study, left-digit pricing was found to be influential with both luxury ($700, $800, $900 and greater in cost) and non-luxury items. In fact, new customers cluster at these higher-priced cutoff points, buying products whose prices end in 9.

    Implementing your pricing strategy:

    For online businesses looking to test the 9-digit pricing in the new year, there are a few considerations to keep in mind:

    • Larger online merchants with the benefit of higher volumes should consider testing 9-digit pricing on a portion of their offerings. The evidence shows that pricing items and subscriptions in such a way stimulates consumer buying behaviour for items as inexpensive as $0.99, all the way up to the hundreds of dollars.
    • Smaller, high-growth merchants should simply consider 9-digit pricing as a smart default. At lower volumes, running pricing experiments can take a much longer time and are prone to data ‘noise’. Instead, these businesses ought to consider 9-digit pricing as standard practice, helping to potentially level the playing field against larger competitors.

    Pricing is key in today’s competitive market, especially for lean online businesses. It can set a business apart from competitors and close a transaction with a fickle consumer. This is especially crucial in an industry where revenue gains of even a few percentage points can go a long way to ensuring long-term growth and success.

  • Coles starts selling food on eBay

    Coles starts selling food on eBay

    Coles on Wednesday started selling a range of ‘everyday essentials’ on eBay, in a bid to reach some of the marketplace’s 11 million unique monthly visitors. The offering includes perishable and non-perishable items in Coles’ everyday essentials range across several categories, including select pre-packaged fresh food, pantry, personal care and household items. The items at launch are available to eBay shoppers in metro Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. Shoppers will initially have just one delivery option, though more will be added throughout the year, according to a statement from eBay and Coles. 

    Alister Jordan, chief executive of Coles Online, described the partnership as being all about convenience.

    “By partnering with eBay, we are providing our customers another convenient way to access our products and have them delivered straight to their door,” he said in a statement.

    The idea is that consumers who are already buying fashion, homewares and electronics on eBay can also complete their food shopping on the online marketplace, rather than having to make a second – virtual – trip to Coles’ e-commerce site.

    “It really comes down to convenience and being able to choose from a great range of groceries as well as those bigger ticket items you can’t get from a supermarket,” Julie Nestor, eBay’s CMO told.

    “Think about planning for a dinner party and being able to purchase everything from the table setting to the meal ingredients on the one site – it’s a more convenient, seamless way to shop online.”

    There is also the fact that more and more brands stocked on supermarket shelves are increasing their direct-to-consumer sales through their own websites or marketplaces like Amazon, which expanded into the pantry category last October, though it doesn’t yet offer fresh food in Australia. For eBay, the partnership seems to be about growing its eBay Plus membership program, which it launched in May 2018 in what many saw as a response to Amazon Prime. The program, which costs $49 a year, includes unlimited delivery and returns on new items bought on eBay, discounts on the Stan streaming service and opportunities to earn points through Coles’ flybuys loyalty program.

    Nestor confirmed that launching Coles’ food offering on eBay has been in the works for some time.

    “After we successfully launched our partnership with flybuys last year, this is a natural extension of our relationship with Coles,” she said.

    Nestor declined to say how many members are currently signed up to the eBay Plus program, but she described the uptake so far as “really positive” and said the company expects it to continue to grow with the launch of Coles on eBay. EBay Plus members get free delivery on orders that are $49 and over, and they earn double the number of flybuys points on all orders.

  • The largest jewellery marketplace in the world opens in Hong Kong

    The largest jewellery marketplace in the world opens in Hong Kong

    Two major jewellery shows organised by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) will open next week. The sixth HKTDC Hong Kong International Diamond, Gem & Pearl Show, which showcases jewellery raw materials, will take place at AsiaWorld-Expo from 26 Feb to 2 March, while the 36th HKTDC Hong Kong International Jewellery Show, which specialises in finished fine jewellery, will be held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC) in Wan Chai from 28 Feb to 4 March.

    This year, the two shows will feature a record of more than 4,600 exhibitors from 48 countries and regions, once again forming the world’s largest jewellery marketplace.

    Jewellery exports grow 13.3% in 2018, but challenging year ahead
    HKTDC Acting Executive Director Benjamin Chau said: “Though the Sino-US trade conflict has been looming large over all sectors and industries, Hong Kong exports of fine jewellery showed healthy growth of 13.3% year on year to reach HK$57 billion in 2018. Exports to the United States, Hong Kong’s largest jewellery export market, were particularly robust, growing by 18.1%.” However, Mr Chau pointed out that the single-month figure for December showed the total value of fine jewellery exports falling 12% year on year, indicating that the impact of the Sino-US trade conflict on exports is beginning to be felt. Compounded by other unfavourable factors such as escalating geopolitical conflicts, Mr Chau reminded businesses to be ready for a potential slowdown in global economic growth in 2019.

    Buying missions organised to help address economic uncertainty

    Mr Chau added that economic uncertainties led to the total value of Hong Kong’s exports of jewellery raw materials, including pearls, gems and semi-gems, declining by 17.6% in 2018, although there was still satisfactory growth in some major markets, including Mainland China (+8%), Belgium (+19.2%) and Israel (+24.4%). “To help the industry grasp more business opportunities, the HKTDC will organise 120 buying missions, comprising more than 8,200 companies from 75 countries and regions, to visit the shows this year,” Mr Chau explained. “These companies will consist of department stores, speciality shops, chain stores and online stores, with 700 coming from the US and 5,700 companies visiting from emerging markets. This will help the industry expand into emerging markets to deal with the unstable global economy.”

    Worldwide support from industry bodies and jewellery associations

    The two shows continue to receive support from industry organisations and jewellery associations from around the world. A total of 38 pavilions, including those from Australia, Mainland China, France, Germany, Italy, Myanmar, India and the US, will set up group pavilions at the shows. Various jewellery organisations will continue to set up their own pavilions, including ACODES from Colombia, the Antwerp World Diamond Centre, International Coloured Gems Association, Israel Diamond Institute, New York Diamond Dealers Club, Tanzanite Foundation and the Gem & Jewellery Trade Association of Thailand, among others.

    The Avenue of Jewellery Creators will be set up at the Jewellery Show by the Asia Pacific Creator Association for the first time, introducing jewellery designs created by Hong Kong and mainland designers. Also new at the Jewellery Show are pavilions from Mexico and Indonesia, while groups from Donghai in Jiangsu province and Dongguan in Guangdong province will debut as exhibitors. The Diamond, Gem & Pearl Show will welcome the participation of the Australian Opal Association and the Beihai Bureau of Commerce from the mainland for the first time, broadening the show’s international outlook.

    Japan as first-time partner country to showcase rare pearls

    With support from the Japan External Trade Organisation and the Consulate-General of Japan in Hong Kong, the HKTDC is collaborating with the Japan Pearl Exporters’ Association and the Japan Pearl Promotion Society to invite Japan as this year’s partner country for the first time. A Japan Pearl Jewellery Pavilion and a Japan Pearl Pavilion will be set up at the Jewellery Show and the Diamond, Gem & Pearl Show respectively, featuring some 130 exhibitors. The two major Japanese pearl organisations will also host a media event on the first day of the Jewellery Show (28 Feb) to introduce exquisite pearl jewellery from Japan.

    Diamond, Gem & Pearl Show runs from 26 February to 2 March

    This is the sixth straight year that the HKTDC has run the two shows in parallel in separate venues. The Diamond, Gem & Pearl Show, which specialises in the raw materials used in the jewellery industry, will be held at AsiaWorld-Expo. The show is organised into different themed zones, including the Hall of Fine Diamonds, which showcases prime quality diamonds of different shapes, cuts, grades and rare colours. The Treasures of Nature zone displays various glittering precious gemstones, semi-precious gems and other natural raw materials, while the Treasures of Ocean zone houses the highest quality pearls from Tahiti, the South Seas and other pearl-producing areas around the world.

    Among the impressively large number of special exhibits on display are:

    Hong Kong company Novel Collection Ltd (Booth No: AWE 2-Q01) will feature a pear-shaped, pink-coloured 5.01-carat diamond with unique cutting valued at HK$46.8 million.

    Swiss exhibitor Theilkas GmbH (Booth No: AWE 1-A05) will present pearls from Caribbean queen conches. Characterised by a unique flame effect, pink conch pearls are one of the world’s most precious pearl types.

    Shaun Gems International (Booth No: AWE 1-A16) from the United States will display a matched pair of natural sapphires of vivid blue colour, weighing a total of 27.76 carats and valued at more than HK$3 million.

    Jewellery Show runs from 28 Feb to 4 March

    The Jewellery Show, which opens on Thursday (28 Feb), will feature a wide array of finished jewellery and exquisite craftsmanship. A total of 38 renowned jewellery brands will converge at the Hall of Fame to showcase their collections. Returning brand names include Lao Feng Xiang from the mainland, Japan’s Kuwayama and Italy’s Giorgio Visconti, while new exhibitors include Hong Kong’s Asia Star, Japan’s Kawamura, Russia’s Kabarovsky and the UK’s JT Jewellery Theatre.

    The Hall of Extraordinary will display skillfully crafted, valuable and unique jewellery pieces from some 100 companies, including:

    Hong Kong’s Jadmily Jewelery (Booth No: CEC GH-B05) will feature a jade necklace valued at HK$64 million. The oval centre stone of the necklace is a jadeite cabochon extracted from a top-tier ancient mine in Myanmar. The warm, smooth touch of elegance is illuminated with dazzling diamonds. The centre stone weighs 51.48g.

    Foo Hang Jewellery of Hong Kong (Booth No: CEC GH-D16) will showcase a diamond jewellery set worth more than HK$13 million. The centrepiece of the set is a marquise shaped diamond of 10.04 carats valued at over HK$8 million. The rare marquise cut is testament to the superb craftsmanship that makes the diamond even more dazzling.

    One of the exhibits of Hong Kong company Belford Jewellery (Booth No: CEC CH-L01) is its “Lava Collection”. One of the jewellery pieces in this collection is an orange-red Mexican fire opal that is uniquely set against a number of coloured diamonds to imitate flowing lava. The piece is valued at HK$345,000.

    Another Hong Kong company, Famous Group Ltd (Booth No: CEC GH-G05), will display a sapphire diamond set valued at over HK$10 million. The sapphire stones, with a total weight of more than 180 carats, are adorned with 128 carats of diamonds to bring out the elegance.

    The IT Solutions for Jewellery zone that debuted last year will return to help buyers boost their competitiveness by tapping into the latest technologies for use in the designing, manufacturing, quality monitoring and selling of jewellery. The new Amber Jewellery zone is introduced to address the growing market demand, while other themed zones include Antique & Vintage Jewellery Galleria, Designer Galleria, Hall of Jade Jewellery, Treasures of Craftsmanship, Hall of Time, Wedding Bijoux and World of Glamour. In the Hall 3E entrance of the Jewellery Show, supported by Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group, the “ARTRIUM” will showcase the company’s unique collection of precious jewellery.

    Networking activities to facilitate business exchange

    A host of activities and events, including jewellery parades, networking sessions, buyer/exhibitor forums and seminars, will be held during the shows to facilitate business exchange. One key event is the cocktail reception and Jewellery Gala Dinner held on the first day of the Jewellery Show (28 Feb). The theme for the gala dinner will be “Dionysus”, after the Greek god of wine, with a menu personally prepared by Edward Voon, Executive Chef of French restaurant LE PAN. The dinner will be attended by actresses Carat Cheung and Toby Chan. The award presentation ceremony for the biennial International Jewellery Design Excellence Award − often referred to as the “Oscars of the jewellery industry” − will be held during the cocktail reception, with the “Champion of the Champions” being announced.

    During the show period, the HKTDC will stage demonstrations of jewellery craftsmanship and themed seminars to update industry players on the latest market trends, production technologies and product styles. For example, experts from the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) will conduct a seminar on “Fancy-coloured Melee Diamonds and their Identification” (26 Feb). The HKTDC will also hold a jewellery industry forum on 1 March covering topics such as the forecasting of jewellery trends, how jewellery design software will revolutionise the design of jewellery products, and insights into the impact of 4K 3D printing technologies and mobile commerce, with a representative from Tencent explaining how artificial intelligence and big data can be used to increase sales. Other seminar topics include the latest developments in the internationalisation of the Fei Cui standard (2 March), observations on sapphires from Mogok, Myanmar (3 March), and gemology studies and market analysis of Myanmar rubies (3 March). Details can be found on the show websites.

    In addition, to identify design talents for the industry and demonstrate the high calibre of Hong Kong jewellery designers to international buyers, the HKTDC has joined hands with four local jewellery industry bodies to organise the 20th Hong Kong Jewellery Design Competition. The theme of the competition this year is “Be Connected, Be United”, attracting around 200 quality entries. The finalists’ designs will be on display in the Hall 1D lobby of the HKCEC during the show period.

    To make it convenient for buyers to visit both shows, a complimentary shuttle bus service will be provided by the HKTDC between AsiaWorld-Expo and downtown (including the HKCEC in Wan Chai). Please visit the show websites for details.

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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 .

  • Bukalapak Joins Hands With Tanamduit to Sell Mutual Funds Online

    Bukalapak Joins Hands With Tanamduit to Sell Mutual Funds Online

    E-commerce platform Bukalapak has partnered with online investment platform Tanamduit to introduce mutual fund products to first-time retail investors. The partnership will see local asset management firms Bahana TCW Investment Management, Batavia Prosperindo Asset Management and Sucorinvest Asset Management offer five new investment products, ranging from equity to fixed-income funds, on Bukalapak’s mutual funds platform BukaReksa.

    At its launch in January 2017, BukaReksa only featured money market fund products offered by CIMB Principal Asset Management and Mandiri Manajemen Investasi.

    But to capture a larger market, Bukalapak joined hands with finance marketplace Bareksa in December 2017, adding four more asset management firms, Kresna Asset Management, Syailendra Capital, Ciptadana Asset Management and BNP Paribas Investment Partners, to the platform

    BukaReksa now features nine asset management firms offering 21 investment products, compared with Bareksa, which has 31 asset management firms offering 160 investment products.

    “We hope our partnership with Tanamduit can boost financial literacy and investment in the country,” said Destya Danang Pradityo, head of payment and financial services at Bukalapak.

    Through the BukaReksa platform, customers can invest from as little as Rp 100,000 to Rp 1.5 million ($7-$104) in mutual funds.

    Destya said BukaReksa has at least 120,000 registered customers, with around half of them active investors from across the archipelago.

    “We believe online investment will become part of our lifestyles. Our collaboration with Bukalapak forms part of our mission to educate people on the benefits of investing,” said Muhammad Hanif, business development director at Tanamduit.

    With rapid technological development and the growth in online transactions, e-commerce players see opportunities to provide various services, including financial and investment products. This has seen the emergence of fintech startups offering mutual fund investment has been a trend over the past three years.

    Aside from Bukalapak, other online marketplaces also joined hands with Bareksa, such as Tokopedia, which in April this year launched Tokopedia Reksadana, offering mutual funds through local asset management firm Syailendra Capital.

    Another fintech startup, Invisee, has also been offering mutual fund products online in partnership with various asset management firms since last year.

    According to Halim Haryono, deputy director of investment supervision and development at the Financial Services Authority (OJK), the number of people investing in mutual funds increased 16.25 percent year-on-year to about 930,000 by October this year, due to the rise of online mutual fund marketplaces.

    Only about 400,000 people invested in mutual funds in 2016, Halim said.

  • Ebay tops list for local marketplace e-commerce

    Ebay tops list for local marketplace e-commerce

    More Australians visit Ebay in an average four week period than do Amazon and Kogan combined, new Roy Morgan research has revealed.

    New data put together from a sample of 50,000 Australians aged 14-plus has shown that Ebay is by far the most popular local online marketplace, with 9.4 million visitors in an average month.

    Next is Gumtree, with 5.6 million visitors, followed by Amazon, which entered last December, at 4.6 million.

    “The gap between these figures shows there is a large cohort of well over 4 million Australians who visit online shopping websites led by eBay, Gumtree, Amazon, Kogan.com, Groupon, Catch, OzBargain and others who don’t follow through and make the purchase,” Roy Morgan CEO Michele Levine said.

    “These online ‘window-shoppers’ represent a huge audience of Australians who are already living in the online world but haven’t taken the final plunge to purchase through the online shopping channels they know exist.”

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