Retail News CRM

Tag: Robins

  • Central Group closes Robins Vietnam online store

    Central Group closes Robins Vietnam online store

    Central Group has closed its Robins Vietnam online fashion store to concentrate on its physical stores. On its website, Robins Vietnam announced the end of online business from this week, referring customers to its two Robins department stores, at Vincom Royal City in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City’s Crescent Mall.

    A Central Group representative said the group “plans to restructure its Vietnamese businesses”, including its fashion operation.

    Central Group launched Robins.vn, which was merged with Rocket Internet’s Zalora.vn, in May 2017.

    The Thai retail giant entered Vietnam in 2011, and now owns several businesses there, including Big C supermarkets, electronics chain Nguyen Kim, Lan Chi Mart, Robins Department Stores, and stationery chain LookKool.

    Mobile World group recently closed its online grocer vuivui.com after two years of operation.

    Vietnam’s e-commerce industry is expected to grow 30 per cent to reach US$13billion by 2020 by Vecom. The market is now dominated by Shopee, Lazada, and Tiki, with major investment from foreign firms including JD, Alibaba.

    Lees ook:

  • Zalora Vietnam becomes Robins after merger

    Zalora Vietnam becomes Robins after merger

    Online fashion platform Zalora Vietnam has officially merged with Robins, becoming one online platform, following the pair’s merger 12 months ago.

    As of May 12, Central Group-owned fashion retailer Robins and e-commerce giant Zalora Vietnam will be shopped at Robins.vn only, not on individual websites. The merger is believed to make the new platform the largest fashion e-commerce site for Vietnam.

    Zalora was the largest online fashion shopping website in Vietnam, specialising in fashion, where it stocks fashion and accessories collections from more than 700 brands.

    In April 2016, Zalora Vietnam was sold by Rocket Internet and bought by Thailand’s Central Group, who acquired both Zalora Vietnam and Thailand subsidiaries. At the time of the transaction, Zalora CEO Michelle Ferrario, said the move would allow Zalora to capture opportunities and strengthen its position in our markets, as we gear towards accelerating our growth.

    “We are happy to have contributed to the vibrancy of Thailand and Vietnam’s e-commerce scene, and we trust that the future owners will continue to build on what we started. We remain committed to providing consumers in the region the best online and mobile shopping experience possible,” said Ferrario, early last year.

    A Zalora representative told ICT News this week that with Zalora and Robins both being owned by Central Group, the group “decided to merge the two brands with the desire to bring the best shopping experience to customers.”The Zalora spokesperson said that all shopping activities at www.robins.vn would be maintained normally.

    Robins arrived in Vietnam in 2014 and has two department stores – in Crescent Mall, Ho Chi Minh City, and Royal City, Hanoi.

    Central Group is one of the Southeast Asia’s largest retail players with a huge footprint in Thailand and forays into Vietnam, Malaysia and Indonesia. The group’s assets, which include multiple shopping malls and national department store chains, are worth close to $10 billion and it employs some 70,000 people across its operations.

    Lees ook:

  • Robinson Thailand plans more border stores

    Robinson Thailand plans more border stores

    Thai department store chain Robinson says it will open outlets in planned special economic zones to encourage cross-border trading.

    The Central Retail Corporation subsidiary says it will open a new Lifestyle Centre at Mae Sot in the Tak province, on the border with Myanmar. It follows a similar store which opened in Mukdahan, on the border with Laos, last year.

    “These stores are being built to take greater advantage of cross-border trade,” CRC international business director, and Robinson president Alan Thomson said in an interview published in The Nation.

    “SEZ projects are good initiatives but will take time to develop and for us to realise any opportunities,” he said.

    CRC operates 42 department stores in Thailand; and two more in Vietnam – one in each of Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi – which trade under the Robins brand name. Its 15 Lifestyle Centres are additional to those.

    In the interview, Thomson talks about the company’s performance in Vietnam to date, its plan to add a well known US apparel brand to its store-in-store brand portfolio next year and how the company is coping with the stagnant Thai economy.

    Lees ook: