Retail News CRM

Tag: Store

  • Jollibee’s 250th store opened in North America

    Jollibee’s 250th store opened in North America

    Philippines fast food operator Jollibee is planning to hit 150 locations in the US within five years, up from its current 37. The company’s CEO Ernesto Tanmantiong said: “The fried chicken market in the US is quite huge. This is just the first leg of our journey, to be one of the major players in the fried chicken market.”

    The company has also announced plans to open 100 additional stores in Canada, part of its strategy to become on of the world’s top five quick-service restaurants.

    Jollibee operates 4300 stores in 20 countries, and has a portfolio of 14 brands.

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  • Shake Shack opens in Pacific Place HK

    Shake Shack opens in Pacific Place HK

    Located at Pacific Place, the new branch will give out 200 Shake Shack tote bags on a first-come-first-serve basis. In addition to the Shack classics and the Hong Kong exclusive milk tea shake, the new store will introduce a selection of local menu items, including a new series of “concrete” (custard desserts) – matcha golden bell, open sesame and queensway crunch.

    Shake Shack will launch three holiday shakes – Christmas cookie, chocolate peppermint, and Hazelnut – to celebrate the festive season. All of which are topped with whipped cream and decorated with colourful sprinkles.

    The holiday shakes will be available for a limited time at both Pacific Place and ifc mall.

    Echoing with Shake Shack’s mission to Stand For Something Good®, the Pacific Place store will donate 5% of sales from its matcha golden bell concrete to the i-dArt programme of Tung Wah Group of Hospitals, a non-profit organisation that promotes social inclusion by encouraging people with differing abilities to participate in art.

    Shake Shack is ramping up its effort on global expansion.

    In a statement, Randy Garutti, CEO of Shake Shack, said the company entered into licensing agreements to open more than 50 stores in the Philippines, Mexico and Singapore over the next decade.

    The company expects to open its first stores in Singapore and Mexico in 2019.

  • BreadTalk Opens New Concept Store In KL

    BreadTalk Opens New Concept Store In KL

    Boutique bakery franchise BreadTalk Malaysia has opened a new concept store in Kuala Lumpur’s Avenue K Shopping Mall. The new outlet is situated opposite the KLCC LRT station and is offering a promotional tote bag to early customers spending more than RM20. It opens from 8 am to 10 pm daily.

    BreadTalk Malaysia is preparing to launch several more concept stores in other Kuala Lumpur locations, including KLIA2, before opening a flagship at Star Boulevard on Jalan Yap Kwan Seng next year.

    The Singaporean brand has spread throughout Asia and the Middle East since opening in 2000, basing its products on premium ingredients such as Japanese-milled flour and New Zealand butter.

  • Ikea to open first Japanese Tokyo store in 2020

    Ikea to open first Japanese Tokyo store in 2020

    Ikea Japan is preparing to open its first central Tokyo location. The 2500sqm store is planned for the fashionable Harajuku district, a central focus point for young local shoppers and tourists.

    Threatened by the rise of raw materials costs, Ikea is expected to struggle to maintain its low price points against strong online competitors such as Amazon. The brand’s parent recently registered a significant drop in annual profits as a consequence of the price increases in wood and metals.

    The new store is scheduled to open in the spring of 2020.

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  • Fung Retailing boosts stake in reborn Toys R Us Asia

    Fung Retailing boosts stake in reborn Toys R Us Asia

    Fung Retailing has finally secured a deal to continue to operate the profitable Toys R Us Asia business. The privately owned Hong Kong business, which is separate to the listed Li & Fung, will boost its stake in Toys R Us Asia from 15 per cent to about 21 per cent, making it the retailer’s largest shareholder.

    The balance will be owned by Taj Noteholders representing a mixture of investment funds and financial institutions who have a stake in the collapsed parent company Toys R Us US.

    Toys R Us Asia has never been affected by the liquidation of the US business – it has been trading profitably under Fung Retailing direction and has even been expanding its store network while shops bearing the iconic banner have been closing in post part of the world. Last week it relaunched its store in Brunei.

    The new partnership between Fung Retailing and Taj Noteholders values the company at US$900 million.

    “This transaction is a significant step in separating the valuable and growing Toys “R” Us Asia operation from the rest of the business,” said an unidentified spokesman for Taj Noteholders in a statement.

    “The company’s growth prospects in Greater China, Japan and Southeast Asia are bright and we are excited about investing in and owning the company in partnership with Fung Retailing”.

    Pieter Schats, executive director of Fung Retailing, said that since introducing Toys R Us to Hong Kong in 1986, Fung Retailing has played an integral role in the successful growth and development of the business across Asia.

    “As a sign of the confidence we have in the management team and future success of Toys R Us in the region, we are pleased to increase our shareholding in the company, reflecting our commitment to support Toys R Us Asia in reaching new heights.”

    The company will continue to be led by its current president & CEO Andre Javes and his management team.

    Technology boost

    The new owners of Toys R Us Asia plan a “significant investment in technology” to boost the company’s infrastructure.

    “We are committed to remaining the leading specialty retailer of toy, education and baby products in Asia by driving innovation and quality through our products and services,” said Javes. “The conclusion of the sale process brings clarity to the company’s ownership and we look forward to strengthening and leveraging our partnerships with our vendors and commercial stakeholders. Our shareholders’ investment is a huge vote of confidence in our vision, our team and our winning model.”

    Toys R Us Asia operates more than 450 stores in Japan, Greater China and Southeast Asia, including Brunei, China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand. It also licenses more than 85 stores in the Philippines and Macau.

  • Gentle Monster opens second store in Singapore

    Gentle Monster opens second store in Singapore

    South Korean eyewear brand Gentle Monster has opened a second store in Singapore at Marina Bay Sands. The launch, coming more than a year since the opening of Gentle Monster’s first store in Southeast Asia at Ion Orchard, is part of the brand’s “13” project. According to the brand, the project is “based on a story of an extreme ecological change the Earth would have to endure in the future due to a tilt of its axis, caused by the Moon being pushed farther away from planet Earth.”

    The concept serves as a metaphor to describe modern-day people who seem “obsessed and overwhelmed by the invalid information they receive daily.”

    To celebrate the opening of the new location, Gentle Monster has teamed up with fashion blogger Yoyo Cao to come up with a special edition of the brand’s popular Cobalt sunglasses model. The limited edition eyewear features a trendy tear drop-shaped frame along with details such as a twisted bridge and an inner template engraved with the word “Yoyokulala”.

    The Gentle Monster x Yoyokulala eyewear will retail at S$368.

    Find out the interior of the store below (5 images) :

  • Muji reopen largest store outside Asia

    Muji reopen largest store outside Asia

    Muji Canada is reopening its original Toronto location next week as its first flagship store in the country’s east. The Muji Atrium opened four years ago as the company’s first location in Canada. While the previous store occupied 5658sqft of retail space, the new flagship store will reach 19,110sqft spread over two floors, becoming the largest Muji store outside of Asia.

    “During the four years since we expanded to Canada, we opened seven additional stores and gradually increased our range of products and services,” said Muji Canada president Toru Akita.

    “By allowing us to reach out to more people and to further convey our philosophy, the Atrium flagship store will open a new chapter for Muji in Canada.

    “Through interactive events, innovative projects, and new partnerships, we wish to connect and evolve together with local communities and contribute to the creation of a better quality of life.”

    The location will carry Muji Canada’s full range of merchandise of more than 4000 items – including household goods, apparel, and food – and offer many products and services only available in select Muji flagship stores around the world, such as a coffee counter serving ethically sourced coffee and an aroma bar that will allow customers to create customised fragrances from more than 40 essential oils.

    Muji Atrium will feature two new customisation services for customers to personalise their products for the first time outside of Japan, including a digital fabric printing service and laser engraving service

    Muji Atrium will be the only location in Eastern Canada to carry books, made-to-order curtains and rugs, the Muji Labo collection, maternity wear, a brand new activewear collection and more.

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  • Cluse opened a new store in Singapore

    Cluse opened a new store in Singapore

    CLUSE opened a new store in Singapore, in Takashimaya Shopping Centre on 15th November, with the leading Asian brand curator Bluebell Group. CLUSE is an Amsterdam based watch and jewellery brand, risen to fame for fashionable watches inspired by minimal French design.

    Ever-since, CLUSE has expanded their collections to host a range of both watch and jewellery lines with the ambition to create pieces for every woman, in a celebration of the uniqueness of everyone who wears the brand.

    The new store in Singapore holds classic collections by CLUSE.

    From their original La Bohéme collection of women’s watches with oversized dials and minimalist features, to their La Vedette collection with small dial sizes, inspired by starlets of the past.

    The store also features their iconic collection of square watches, named La Garconne, as well as their other most popular watch collections, Minuit, Triomphe, and La Roche.

    Usually focusing on women’s accessories, this time a year CLUSE revealed both a feminine gift box, including their bestselling La Garçonne with an additional strap, and a first-time ever masculine gift box – featuring the  company’s classic La Bohème design, with an additional nato strap large enough to fit a bigger wrist.

    Both of these festive season sets are packaged in new, specially designed gift boxes which hint to the style of the watches inside.

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  • GU to Open Next-Generation Store “GU STYLE STUDIO”

    GU to Open Next-Generation Store “GU STYLE STUDIO”

    Japanese casualwear retailer GU will open a “next-generation” Style Studio in Harajuku this month, merging physical retail and advanced technologies. The studio will feature digital signage and a style creator app in the high-end retail district of Tokyo for the Fast Retailing-owned fashion brand.

    A spokesperson for the brand indicated the store will bridge online and in-store shopping and “will offer a new type of personalised fashion experience, enabling customers to discover outfits that perfectly match their individual style, using the innovative technology of the GU Style Creator Stand” and the accompanying app.

    Customers can check out the suitability of garments by having them digitally fitted on a personalised avatar of themselves based on a photo taken in the store. The avatar can be used as a basis to try and develop new styles.

    The store will open on November 30.

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  • Coach enters KL’s SkyAvenue Genting

    Coach enters KL’s SkyAvenue Genting

    U.S. luggage, leather goods and accessories maker Coach has unveiled a new Malaysian boutique at Kuala Lumpur’s SkyAvenue, Genting Highlands. Located inside the Malaysia capital’s innovative shopping precinct on Level 2, Coach’s SkyAvenue store spans approximately 2,002 square-feet and stocks the New York brand’s ready-to-wear collections for both women and men, as well as its iconic hand bags, small leather goods, footwear, accessories and jewellery.

    Coach Creative Director Stuart Vevers in partnership with William Sofield, designer and president of Studio Sofield, were the talent behind the store layout.

    Embellished in modern luxury, as seen in the leather and natural wood finishes that reflect the sophisticated yet playfulness of Coach, the Kuala Lumpur store boasts custom-made cabinets – made from natural and ebonised ash.

    Other texture and material plays come via the use of blackened steel, vintage bronze and wood trimmings.

    Customers will also appreciate the pinewood floor, made of custom wool carpeting, and the tasteful mid-century furniture.

    The new Kuala Lumpur store even has a ‘Craftsmanship Bar’, offering personalised monogramming in addition to leather care and cleaning.

    With more than 100 retail options, SkyAvenue is one of Kuala Lumpur’s most unique shopping experiences.

    The mall is located 6,000 feet above sea level, and is home to a huge range of retail and F&B establishments spanning across five floors. The opening comes at a time when Coach is focusing on Asia, namely China.

    Last week, the New York brand revealed it will stage its next Pre-Fall 2019 runway show in Shanghai, in celebration of the brand’s 15th anniversary.

    Titled “Coach Lights Up Shanghai,” the collection of ready-to-wear, sneakers and accessories is scheduled to show December 8, and will be the first show of its kind that Coach has done outside of New York.

    Global sales at Coach, which makes up over 70% parent company Tapestry’s sales, rose 4% in the three months ended September 29.

    For the quarter period, Tapestry net sales rose to $1.38 billion. Net income was $122.3 million, compared with a loss of $17.7 million a year earlier.

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  • Big C to open in Malaysia

    Big C to open in Malaysia

    Thai Hypermarket Big C appears to be preparing to enter Malaysia. According to several websites, Fraser and Neave, a subsidiary of billionaire Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi’s TCC Group, is in the process of completing local regulatory requirements through Ministry of International Trade and Industry to prepare for the launch of Big C Malaysia.

    The target opening date has not been confirmed.

    However, the first Big C Malaysia Supercentre is expected to be located in Kedah in northwest Malaysia, near the Thai border.

    Big C currently operates in Thailand, Vietnam and Laos.

    Many Malaysians reportedly cross the border into Thailand to shop at the Big C hypermarket in Hat Yai, in Thailand’s south, giving the company confidence its offer would be popular among residents of its neighbouring country.

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  • Jins store opened a spectacular store in Shanghai World

    Jins store opened a spectacular store in Shanghai World

    Japanese eyewear brand Jins has opened a striking new store in the Shanghai World Financial Center. The Jins store was designed by Tokyo-based architect Junya Ishigami without any external entrance and features concrete counters that appear to float in the air, set against a stark, industrial setting, sporting hundreds of fashionable glasses frames. The counters are supported by heavy H-beams attached to a bowed steel sheet that covers the shop floor.

    The store is lit by strong 4000-Kelvin suspended luminaires that bring the bare walls into stark contrast. Ishigami commented, “I wanted to make a void space within a shopping mall.”

    Jins traditionally hires independent designers to fit out its retail areas.

    Jins founder and CEO Hitoshi Tanaka said: “I prefer working with architects on a space because they make more of an impact.”

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  • IKEA to create 10,000 jobs in Maharashtra India over next 3 years

    IKEA to create 10,000 jobs in Maharashtra India over next 3 years

    Swedish furniture giant IKEA is planning to hire 10,000, both direct and indirect, in Maharashtra over the next two to three years, a senior company executive has said. According to a report: The company opened its first store in Hyderabad in August this year and the Navi Mumbai will be the second store in the country.

    “Next year, we are opening the Navi Mumbai store, for which we are planning to recruit 5,000 directly and an equal number will be hired indirectly over the two to three years,” Anna-Carin Mansson, People and Culture Manager, IKEA India said.

    This will include directly hiring 1,000 by mid-next year and 1,500 indirectly for services, including assembly among others, she said adding as per the IKEA policy, 50 percent of this recruitment will be of women at all levels.

    “We believe in equality and providing a balanced, safe and secure work environment for all employees. We are also open for recruiting from the lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGBT) communities,” she further said.

    The world’s largest furniture chain is looking to hire people in e-commerce, sales, logistics, digital and Human Resource’s and mostly they hire locals, she said.

    “With our employee friendly policies, we are expecting to keep the attrition levels very low. We believe in value- based recruitment, where the core values of an individual is considered and not what is said in the CV. We provide equal opportunities to all our co-workers, help them grow and enable them to follow their passion,” she said.

    IKEA has several employee friendly policies, such as day care facilities, parental leave policy, transport policy, competence development, mentoring, pension plan among others.

    “Maharashtra is an important market for us. We have been sourcing from the state for many decades and now we are ready to enter the market in 2019 with our full offer to be able to serve all the customers,” Per Hornell, Market Manager for Maharashtra, IKEA India said.

    IKEA opened its first store in the country in Hyderabad in August, where it employs 1,000 people.

    The company is the first major single brand retailer to get FDI approval and plans to open several stores and multiple touch points across the main cities over the next 10 years .

    IKEA has four land sites in Telangana, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Delhi/NCR, and continues to look for more in other major cities.

    IKEA operates 423 IKEA stores in 50 countries with a sales volume of 38.3 billion euros.

  • Vingroup acquires mobile phone retailer Vien Thong A

    Vingroup acquires mobile phone retailer Vien Thong A

    Vietnam’s biggest private conglomerate Vingroup has officially confirmed its acquisition of major tech products retailer Vien Thong A.

    In its financial statement for the third quarter of 2018, Vingroup lists Vien Thong A Import Export Trading Production Corporation as a fully-owned subsidiary.

    On September 14, Mai Thu Thuy, board member of the Vincom Retail Joint Stock Company and Chairwoman of the Vincom Mega Mall Royal City, was appointed legal representative of the acquired company.

    Established in November 1997 in Ho Chi Minh City, Vien Thong A is the oldest retail technology chain in Vietnam. It has nearly 200 stores, including independent shops and a “shop-in-shop” model in BigC supermarket, CoopMart, and 100 service centers.

    In early 2017, Vien Thong A CEO Hoang Ngoc Vy revealed plans to restructure the company and seek investors to expand its business.

    Last month, VinCommerce, a member of Vingroup, bought Fivimart from domestic company Nhat Nam JSC and Japanese retailer AEON, which held 70 percent and 30 percent stakes, respectively.

    In the first nine months of this year, retail sales of Vingroup reached VND12.89 trillion (nearly $555 million), a 41 percent year-on-year surge.

    Vingroup, Vietnam’s biggest property conglomerate, dominates the housing and property markets with Vinhomes.

    It has also entered the healthcare market with Vinmec, runs a chain of supermarkets called Vinmart, and entertains tourists at Vinpearl resorts.

  • Phase Eight opens store in MOKO Hong Kong

    Phase Eight opens store in MOKO Hong Kong

    Phase Eight, the British womenswear brand, in partnership with Rue Madame Fashion Group (RMFG), opens a new store on 21st October. It is in Hong Kong’s premium lifestyle hub, MOKO where the brand decided to establish its 8th store.

    To extend the core principle of Phase Eight, the store offers design-lead personal shopping experiences to customers with professional tips.

    A private yet cosy lounge allows customers to shop in relax and comfortable environment.

    Spread over 1533 square feet, the new store featured a brand new retail concept in MOKO, offering a modern and minimal aesthetic, to create an inviting and relaxing shopping space.

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