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Tag: Stores

  • Puma sales drops as 233 new stores open across China

    Puma sales drops as 233 new stores open across China

    Puma sales surged by 15.5 per cent on a currency-adjusted basis in the first half of this year, to €2.546 billion.

    The Asia-Pacific region led the way, with sales soaring 21.6 per cent in the second quarter, closely followed by the Americas, up by 19.7 per cent. Net earnings rose by 46.3 per cent to €144.1 million.

    “The second quarter of 2019 developed very positively for us, with sales growing 15.7 per cent currency-adjusted and earnings before interest and tax increasing 39 per cent,” said CEO Bjorn Gulden. “All divisions and all regions saw healthy improvement.”

    New styles of footwear sold well, apparel continued to be strong, replenishment orders for both apparel and footwear developed and the company’s direct-to-consumer business also performed well, he said.

    Within Asia, China was the main growth driver for the sportswear brand, without breaking down Puma sales figures by market.

    From a product-division perspective, the sales growth was driven by double-digit growth in apparel with an increase of 24.8 per cent as well as in footwear, which grew by 11.7 per cent.

    Wholesale continued to drive growth with an increase of 13.8 per cent currency-adjusted, supported by the strong performance of key accounts. Sales through Puma’s owned-and-operated retail sales increased by 21.5 per cent currency-adjusted to €599.6 million including e-commerce.

    In China Puma opened a net 33 owned-and-operated retail stores during the first six months and its partners a further 200.

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  • Alceon rolling out Lego stores across Australia

    Alceon rolling out Lego stores across Australia

    Alceon Group on Wednesday revealed plans to significantly expand the footprint of Lego stores in Australia.

    New stores are set to open in New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland over the coming months, with South Australia and Western Australia to follow in 2020.

    A store is also set to open in Westfield Newmarket in New Zealand later this year.

    Alceon, which holds the rights to Lego-certified stores in Australia and New Zealand, opened the first standalone Lego store in Westfield Bondi Junction in March, which executive director Richard Facioni said has “captured the imagination of all generations”.

    The store is centered on providing interactive experiences, with a pick-a-brick wall, build-your-own-minifigure stations and play tables, where kids can assemble their own creations.

    The store has benefited from the growing popularity of the Lego brand in the region, thanks to the arrival of the top-rated Lego Masters reality show, Facioni said.

    Alceon plans to capitalise on this momentum, with the first new store to open in Broadway Sydney in late 2019.

    The company said it has secured prime positioning on Level 2 of one of Australia’s highest performing shopping centers. The store, like the Bondi Junction location, will feature exclusive, customized design elements and brick-built symbols.

    “The introduction of further LEGO Certified Stores in key locations will
    accelerate the reach of this leading global retail concept, as we build on the excitement and emotion intrinsic to the iconic LEGO brand,” Facioni said in a statement about the expansion.

    Alceon Group is an investment firm that is one of the biggest retail companies in Australia, following its acquisition of Specialty Fashion Group’s Katies, Millers, Autograph, Crossroads and Millers brands, James Packer’s Pretty Girl Fashion group and Pumpkin Patch.

    The company also has a controlling stake in Noni B and recently acquired a stake in ethical fashion brand Ginger & Smart.

  • Uniqlo India set to open first three stores

    Uniqlo India set to open first three stores

    Uniqlo India is counting down to the launch of its first three stores in India.

    The Japanese fast-fashion retailer first announced plans to open in India in late 2017 and it has taken more than 18 months to secure necessary approvals, locations and prepare operations.

    The stores will open in Delhi-NCR, with the first 35,000sqft outlet due to start trading in three months’ time. The move is part of the brand’s global strategy to gain ground on rival brands Zara and H&M.

    “The opening of our first store, Uniqlo Ambience Mall Vasant Kunj, followed by a second and third store a little later represents a significant step in our company’s global strategy,” said Uniqlo founder and Fast Retailing chairman, president and CEO Tadashi Yanai.

    A Uniqlo India spokesperson added: “Given the size and fast growth of the Indian market, the launch will for the first time involve three separate stores to be able to offer LifeWear to as many people as possible”.

    “We have to do the best price point based on our quality,” said the firm’s head of research & development Yuki Katsuta. “I have confidence in our price and also our value. Of course, we know, maybe our price point is slightly more expensive than your local market. People feel that it’s a little bit more expensive to what they’re used to buying. But at the same time, we have confidence that once they buy it we don’t let them down.”

    Uniqlo India has been helped by the government’s relaxation of sourcing restrictions for single-brand retailers, which currently stand at 30 per cent mandatory local sourcing.

  • Nexstgo to open 50 stores in India

    Nexstgo to open 50 stores in India

    Hong Kong electronics producer Nexstgo is launching 50 stores in India.

    The brand entered the market last year selling Avita and Nexstgo-branded computers online and through retail stores in Delhi, Ambala, Chennai and Jaipur. It is currently targeting laptop sales at one lakh (US$1450) this year.

    “We have seen a tremendous response so far and by the end of the year, we are confident of crossing the one-lakh device mark,” said Nexstgo Company CEO and co-founder Alex Chung.

    “We are also in the process of expanding our retail presence, we are looking at 50 exclusive brand stores.

    “We are looking at adding two new products to our portfolio by Diwali this year across the country… We aim to have an omni-channel presence to maximise our visibility with an equal focus on offline and online sales,” he added.

    Nexstgo also plans to expand into the Middle East and Europe by the end of this year. It currently operates in nearly a dozen countries around the Asia region.

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  • Tesco Thailand Planning to Open 750 new Stores

    Tesco Thailand Planning to Open 750 new Stores

    Tesco Thailand is evaluating opening as many as 750 more convenience stores, which would expand its overall network by about 50 per cent.

    No timeline was revealed for the move, which is one of several strategic growth options being considered by the British-headquartered grocery retailer. Another is the development of a premium supermarket offer in the UK.

    Tesco currently operates 1583 stores in Thailand, a mixture of large-format hypermarkets and a growing network of small compact stores for local communities.

    In light of the company’s success in Thailand and neighbouring Malaysia, the company is reportedly considering options for expansion in other Asian markets including South Korea and China. A move into South Korea would be surprising given the company sold its Homeplus-bannered hypermarket operations there in 2015.

    Developing a stronger convenience-store network in Thailand – and potentially Malaysia – would make a lot of sense given consumers across the region are losing interest in hypermarkets as a format in favour of more frequent visits to smaller shops, as well as buying goods online.

    Tesco has told its investors that Thais are migrating from traditional markets to hypermarkets, supermarkets and convenience stores as the country develops.

    The potential store expansion was outlined at a Capital Markets Day presentation to analysts and investors on the company’s future direction.

  • Lulu Group’s Tablez plans 150 More Stores

    Lulu Group’s Tablez plans 150 More Stores

    Abu Dhabi-headquartered Lulu Group’s retail arm Tablez is moving to invest US$75 million into the Indian market with the aim of opening more than 150 stores in the territory by the end of next year.

    The move, if successful, is expected by management to nearly quadruple its market share in India.

    “We plan to exit this year with nearly 100 stores, and we would be scaling up with fresh investments in 2020 to arrive at a portfolio of 150+ stores in India,” said Tablez MD Adeeb Ahamed.

    “We will be adding five more brands – Corir, Desigual, GoSport, YOYOSO and OshKosh, taking the total number of our retail brands across various categories to 13 brands in India by the end of 2019,” he said.

    Tablez has more than 40 stores within India operating in several industry sectors from F&B to fashion.

    “To fuel further growth, we would be deploying about $75 million in capital over the next two years to scale our retail stores, enhance our people building capacity and create backend infrastructure and marketing,” he said.

    Tabelz currently markets a range of international and homegrown brands in the territory.

  • China is experiencing a convenience-store Expansion

    China is experiencing a convenience-store Expansion

    China is experiencing a convenience-store boom.

    Nearly 12,000 new convenience stores were opened on the mainland last year, according to the China Urban Convenience Store Index, an increase of 18 percent.

    The index, released by the China Chain Store and Franchise Association, showed that new convenience stores took up 62 percent of all new openings in the territory. Around two-thirds of these were opened under a franchise arrangement.

    Typically, franchised convenience stores in China show a return on investment at the two-year mark.

    While first-tier cities are thought to have reached saturation point in terms of convenience-store market penetration, the field remains open for second and third-tier cities.

    “There is a big potential for more regional players to deepen their market penetration,” said secretary general of the China Chain Store & Franchise Association Peipei Liang, adding that hypermarket operators are now turning to smaller-scale and community stores for a new growth point.

    Association figures show that the top 100 chain stores reached sales of CNY240 billion (US$34.9 billion), and an increase of 7.7 percent on the previous year’s results. These players also benefited from a 55.5 percent increase in online revenue.

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  • Volkswagen Expands Network With First City & Pop-up Stores In India

    Volkswagen Expands Network With First City & Pop-up Stores In India

    German auto giant has inaugurated its first city and pop-up stores in India, in a bid to expand its presence and touchpoints in the country. The manufacturer opened its first City store at Richmond Road in Bengaluru, while the Pop-up store opened in Tumkur. The automaker says that the initiative aims to prepare the brand to be ‘fit for the future’ while being innovative. Volkswagen plans to introduce 30 new pop-up and city stores across the country over the next one year.

    Speaking about the new innovation, Steffen Knapp, Director, Volkswagen Passenger Cars said, “Our business environment is changing at a breathtaking pace in view of new technologies and enhanced customer expectations. Our customers today value innovation and in turn expect a prompt and hassle-free experience with Volkswagen. This new format of transforming our sales stores is in alignment with our global growth strategy. As the world is moving towards connected mobility solutions, digitalization across the sales and after-sales process is pertinent. We’re constantly innovating our brand offerings and we trust our customers would appreciate the Volkswagen experience.”

    The new stores have been opened in partnership with PPS Motors. Speaking on the collaboration, Rajiv Sanghvi, MD – PPS Motors said, “To enhance the customer purchase experience in today’s digital age, we are driven to deliver this world-class showroom that combines traditional and digital tools to offer a seamless sales experience to our customers.”

    The Volkswagen Pop-up store aims to offer an opportunity for potential customers to interact better with the brand. These stores are mainly targeted at the semi-urban and rural areas where the company has a limited presence. Meanwhile, the Volkswagen City store will cater to young customers in urban areas. The city store will offer a digitized experience to customers with paperless details on the vehicles. Vehicles bought via both the stores will be serviced at the existing company workshops that are associated with the traditional dealerships that are already established in multiple cities.

    Volkswagen currently operates out of 119 showrooms and 113 workshops, which are spread across 100 cities in the country. The city and pop-up store concepts will help VW India reach out to newer regions in the country, without necessarily spending the high infrastructure cost involved with setting up a dealer network. It’s not clear as to how long with the city and pop-up stores will be in operation. However, local dealers will find help in reaching out to newer customers outside their traditional vicinity.

  • Watsons loyalty program Expanding for Travellers

    Watsons loyalty program Expanding for Travellers

    Watsons is about to expand its loyalty program cross-border with 8 million members in 11 cities in the Greater Bay Area the first to benefit.

    “Watsons operates in many popular travel destinations worldwide, and our customers also tell us that they would like to shop in Watsons overseas,” said group COO Malina Ngai. “Therefore, in order to bring more excitement to our members, it is logical our loyalty program goes international.”

    Members of the Watsons loyalty program in Watsons Hong Kong and Watsons China (in particular Greater Bay Area members) will be able to upgrade their membership to the One Pass-level program to enjoy benefits when they shop in any of the 660 Watsons stores in the 11 cities: Hong Kong, Macau, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Foshan, Zhongshan, Dongguan, Huizhou, Jiangmen and Zhaoqing.

    The cross-border program will be launched in other Asian markets including Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Taiwan and Indonesia in July.

    “Watsons has been the No.1 Pharmacy/ Drugstore brand in Asia for 10 consecutive years with more than 90 million loyalty club members, and the majority of them are frequent travellers,” said Ngai.

    Indeed, recent research of 14,000 consumers in seven Asian regions showed the average frequency of cross-border Asian travelling is 1.7 per year. Hong Kong people travel 2.2 times yearly, ranking second across Asia, preceded only by Singaporeans, who travel 2.7 times per year.

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  • Takashimaya After Opportunities in South East Asia

    Takashimaya After Opportunities in South East Asia

    Three Southeast Asian countries are on Japanese department store operator’s radar. Takashimaya says it is evaluating opportunities to open department stores in the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia.

    However, in an interview, Takashimaya’s president Yoshio Murata said while new stores in those markets could be an option, the company’s priority now is to focus on “raising the profitability of the four stores” it already has in Southeast Asia and China.

    Takashimaya opened a store in the IconSiam development in Bangkok late last year, adding to stores it already had in Shanghai, Singapore and Ho Chi Minh City.

    In May last year, it was reported that just one of its overseas stores was then trading at a profit – the Singapore flagship on Orchard Road. But the company said it believed it could make them all profitable by 2023, including the Bangkok one.

    This week, Murata said the company plans to strengthen its overseas operations and sees an opportunity for growth in Southeast Asia, in particular.

    Additional locations “are entirely possible,” he said, so long as there were good locations available.

    The company is facing problems in its home market where an aging population and declining birth rate are making business growth a challenge.

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  • Harvey Norman plans More Expansion in Malaysia

    Harvey Norman plans More Expansion in Malaysia

    Harvey Norman Malaysia is planning to open nine stores by the end of next year, taking its network there to more than 50 by the end of 2023. The retailer has expanded into Sarawak with an outlet in Miri Times Square.

    The 40,000sqft store covers a range of products spanning electrical and electronics, as well as furniture and bedding.

    “Harvey Norman has one price point, so regardless of where you buy it in Malaysia, the price is the same and Miri customers will get these benefits,” said Kenneth Aruldoss, Harvey Norman Asia MD.

    “We also cater to Bruneian customers. They can come to Miri and shop at our store, and we’ll give them the same support and quality service including after-sales service.”

    Four other stores – in Tebrau and Southkey (Johor), Ipoh and Kota Baru – will open in the second half of the year.

    Harvey Norman Malaysia sales reached S$152.33mil last financial year, up 10.5 percent year on year.

    “Malaysia is the best-performing country, with Singapore coming in second, in terms of growth and profits (among other indicators),” Aruldoss said.

    After launching in 2003, Harvey Norman Malaysia now has more than 17 stores across the country.

  • Daniel Wellington launched Moments of Love Concept

    Daniel Wellington launched Moments of Love Concept

    Watches and accessories retailer Daniel Wellington has launched a new pop-up with Shinsegae Myeongdong in Seoul. The DW Moments of Love pop-up will run from May 1 to July 3, in line with the brand’s #DWMoments global campaign designed to encourage influencers to open up and share a “true, personal, special moment that they cherish”.

    The campaign features in-depth interviews with different influencers from diverse backgrounds and different corners of the world sharing the most significant moments of their lives, and letting fans see the people behind the Instagram filters and hear the moments that shaped them as human beings.

    “When customers visit Shinsegae Duty-Free, they can meet the hottest brand – Daniel Wellington at our exclusive Moments of Love pop-up,” said Shinsegae’s watch and jewelry GM Sunyung Hong. “I am happy to open this pop-up together with DW, where not only couples but also friends and family can share their precious moments.”

    “With engagement being at the core of our brand, an authentic connection with our fans is a part of our DNA – whether it be online, or offline in our travel retail locations,” stated a press release issued by Daniel Wellington.

    “We believe in meaningful retailtainment, and it is wonderful that our fans can capture their moments through the bullet time cameras, and add their personal meaningful touch on their DW gifts to their loved ones through the ribbon printing service which will be exclusively available at the pop-up!”

    The event concept and offers will be exclusive to Shinsegae for the duration of the pop-up.

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  • Vietnamese good to be displayed at Japanese supermarket chain

    Vietnamese good to be displayed at Japanese supermarket chain

    A week for Vietnamese goods this year will be held at the Aeon supermarket chain in Saitama prefecture and Kanto region in Japan from June 5-12, according to organizers.

    During the week, Vietnamese goods will be highlighted at 40 outlets in the Aeon distribution system, along with many activities such as plant tours, product assessment, and consultations.

    Business-to-business contacts between Vietnam and Aeon importers, the introduction of Vietnamese products and capacity, popularisation of standards for imports, and agreement signing, along with food shows, tourism promotion, and art performances will be held within the framework of the week.

    After the week, enterprises will be supported to connect with Aeon so as to supply their products to the supermarket chain. AEON committed to raising Vietnam’s export turnover through the group’s system to US$500 million in 2020 and $1 billion in 2025, following a memorandum of understanding (MoU) inked between the Japanese group and the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

    In order to help Vietnamese businesses to join the AEON supply chain and become a supplier for the over 1,000 AEON supermarkets around the globe, the group has built a plan including a number of activities to increase the presence of made-in-Việt Nam goods, Yuichiro Shiotani, General Director of AEON Topvalu Vietnam, said at a recent conference in HCM City.

    AEON has also provided technical support to improve the production capability of Vietnamese suppliers and help them access Japanese customers, as well as boost the purchase of Vietnamese goods to sell at its stores in Japan and other countries, he said

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  • Puma profit Down

    Puma profit Down

    Sportswear giant’s sales and profit soar, with China one of its greatest performing markets.

    Puma is celebrating its “best quarter ever” as sales, gross margin and profit reached record levels.

    On a currency-adjusted basis sales reached €1.319 billion (US$1.476 billion) up 15.3 per cent, while on a reported basis, sales growth was 16.6 per cent.

    The German-headquarted sportswear retailer said the increase reflected continued growth in all regions and product divisions across the business.

    Gross profit margin improved by 80 basis points to 49 per cent and EBIT by 27 per cent to €143 million. Net earnings rose 40.1 per cent to €94.4 million in the quarter.

    “The first quarter of 2019 was the best quarter Puma has ever seen,” said Bjorn Gulden, Puma’s CEO. “Revenues … were the highest Puma has ever achieved in a quarter and the EBIT … was also the highest absolute EBIT Puma has ever achieved. So, it has been a very good start into the year.”

    By region, Asia-Pacific – driven by China – and the Americas contributed with double-digit sales growth, while sales in Europe, Middle East and Africa increased “solidly,” the company said.

    By division, apparel was the main growth driver in the quarter, followed by accessories and footwear. The categories running and training, teamsport, motorsport and golf on the performance side, as well as sportstyle all recorded strong growth.

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  • The North Face shuts down stores

    The North Face shuts down stores

    Outdoor retailer The North Face closed its global headquarters and more than 100 stores in the US and Canada on Monday, April 22, as part of its effort to make Earth Day a global holiday.

    The store closures are the culmination of The North Face’s Explore Mode campaign, which saw the brand partner with musicians, artists and culinary influencers on pop-up events throughout the US.

    The move follows a campaign launched four years ago by fellow US outdoor retailer REI to shut its stores and website on Black Friday and instead encourage customers to #optoutside.

    Before closing its bricks-and-mortar stores in North America, The North Face switched them to Explore Mode, so customers could find resources to spend Earth “off the grid”, including an exploration kit filled with “analog gear to stay present and capture memories without the need for digital devices”.

    “We believe that when people take time to appreciate the Earth, they feel more connected to it and are more likely to protect it,” Tim Bantle, global general manager of lifestyle at The North Face, said.

    “Explore Mode urges us to unplug from our digital lives to connect in real life to the world, each other, and ourselves in the effort to move the world forward.”

    Petition to make Earth Day global holiday

    The North Face was one of 16 organisations, including global brands like Clif and S’Well, that launched a petition with Change.org earlier this month to make Earth Day a national holiday everywhere.

    At the time of this writing, more than 128,600 people had signed the petition, which has a goal to reach 150,000.

    Other retailers, such as Tapestry Inc, also took the opportunity of Earth Day to announce sustainability initiatives.

    As part of its new corporate responsibility goals, the parent company of Coach, Kate Spade and Stuart Weitzman plans to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 20 per cent, water usage by 10 per cent and waste in its North American corporate arm by 25 per cent and recycle 75 per cent of its packaging by 2025.

    The company also aims to source 90 per cent of the leather it uses from eco-friendly tanneries and achieve 95 per cent traceability of its raw materials to ensure a transparent supply chain.

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