Taiwanese streetwear boutique Invincible has opened a new store in Shanghai. The opening was marked by a brand collaboration with Japanese label Wacko Maria in the form of a capsule collection, which is on display within an in-store pop-up installation.
The pop up’s striking-pink print wall and industrial rack set off the store’s otherwise understated design with untreated wood displays.
The store is located at Soho Fuxing Plaza on Madang Road.
Australian bag brand Crumpler has added distributors in Taiwan and Mainland China as it looks to expand sales in greater Asia and open new stores there. Crumpler CEO Adam Wilkinson says the region is the brand’s fastest-growing market outside Australia, so increasing its distributor network and retailer presence in Mainland China and Taiwan is “vital for us to meet the demands of current and new customers”.
Sea to Summit has been appointed in Mainland China and HWA Yao Trading in Taiwan.
Crumpler Asia now has five distributors in six Asian countries and at least six stores.
“A lot of Chinese consumers are already fans of the Crumpler brand and with our middle-class rapidly growing, now is the time to re-introduce Crumpler’s premium travel, lifestyle and work bags and accessories to a wider market, with a particular focus on department stores and shopping malls,” said Barry Lin, sales director at Sea to Summit China.
“Quality is our primary focus when aligning with a new brand which makes Crumpler a natural fit for HWA Yao. The retail market is evolving in Taiwan hence we’re excited to bring
the reputable bagware brand into the market. We forecast it will be a successful ongoing partnership”, said Vincent Kao, CEO.
Founded in Melbourne in 1995, Crumpler was created to address the needs of bicycle couriers looking for good-looking and cleverly designed messenger bags. The company has since expanded its range to include backpacks and a broad range of carrier solutions.
Crumpler has a retail and online presence in Australia, the US and Asia, with more than 27 storefronts and distribution across 35 key department store and online retailers worldwide.
Taiwanese smartphone maker HTC has opened the doors of its first global flagship store for its Vive VR headset. The Shenzhen store will offer consumers the chance to experience VR technology in a relaxed in-store environment. The brand wants consumers to build a better understanding of how VR works, the content available, and how it can enhance their lives – through entertainment and practical applications.
HTC launched its first Vive headset three years ago and is now a predominant player in the Chinese VR market, claiming 82 per cent market share at one point last year.
It is now partnering with video game maker Ubisoft Entertainment, Warner Brothers and the McLaren Formula 1 team to participate in the China Digital Entertainment Expo and Conference, nicknamed ChinaJoy, where it will have a VR gaming carnival.
HTC has long been running at a loss as sales of its handsets fall in the highly competitive smartphone market and it sees VR technology as an opportunity to return to profitability.
BMW is recalling about 1.6 million diesel cars to fix a potential fire hazard in their engines, expanding repairs from just under half a million vehicles in Europe and Asia. The voluntary service action follows a BMW investigation that found coolant could leak from the car’s exhaust recirculation unit. The defect can lead to sparks while driving and cause fires in “in extreme cases,” the automaker said Tuesday in a statement.
South Korea’s government, after reports of 40 fires this year, asked drivers to keep vehicles off roads until undergoing checks. Police also raided the automaker’s office in Seoul to probe the safety issue, after videos of cars engulfed by fire went viral.
The vehicles affected — diesels with four- and six-cylinder engines — were produced between 2010 and 2017, BMW said.
After the initial recall announced in August, BMW’s internal investigation found more vehicles with similar technical setups. The company said it will replace the components as necessary.
BMW last month cut its profit forecast, blaming an increase in warranty provisions alongside trade tensions and pricing pressure.
Citi Private Bank appointed Sally Yeh as global market manager for Taiwan, who joins immediately. She joins the American bank from UBS, where she most recently led a team of offshore bankers working with entrepreneurs from Taiwan.
She will be responsible for growing Citi’s with ultra-high net worth individuals from Taiwan and manages teams based in both Hong Kong and Singapore. Yeh, who is based in Hong Kong, reports to Rudolf Hitsch, Citi’s head of north Asia.
Veteran Banker
Yeh brings with her over 20 years of experience in various financial fields focused on the needs of business owners and investors from Taiwan.
She started her career in Taiwan in asset management, before moving on to work in investment banking for eight years. In 2009, she joined UBS as a private banker in Hong Kong for the ultra-high net worth segment.
Taiwanese bookstore chain Eslite is planning to expand into Japan. The prominent bookstore business is using the move to build its international profile, and has announced its plans as amounting to a “new starting point for cross-culture ventures”. Eslite’s Japanese partner has yet to be named.
The firm’s long-term plan is to expand into Southeast Asia, and it has been contacted by multiple potential partners, according to chairperson Mercy Wu. It is currently considering potential different modes of partnership.
Eslite is a prominent name in the books industry in Taiwan, with 42 stores nationwide, as well as an additional three in Hong Kong and one in Suzhou.
Starbucks Taiwan has opened a store made entirely of shipping containers in Hualien Bay Mall.
The 29 containers have been stacked as building blocks designed to resemble the uneven foliage of a coffee bush at the yet-to-open mall that will launch as a tourist spot with views of the Pacific.
The new Starbucks Taiwan cafe is constructed following the “Starbucks Greener Stores” initiative for sustainable store building using reclaimable materials and green design principles. The interior features a large mural celebrating the aboriginal Amis people of Hualien.
According to the brand’s press release, “The stacking of the shipping containers created a much taller space and provides natural sunlight throughout the various skylights found throughout the structure.”
Starbucks has now opened 40 locations built from shipping containers. This 320sqm structure is the first to be designed by Japanese architect Kengo Kuma, known for his reinterpretation of traditional styles. Kuma has designed multiple iconic locations for Starbucks.
Tigerair Taiwan said it would start flying between Cebu City and Taipei on Dec. 1. Taiwan’s only low-cost carrier said it would offer a 2-day seat sale for the new route starting Monday. Tigerair will use the new Mactan-Cebu International Airport and will compete with the Philippines’ largest carrier, Cebu Pacific and AirAsia in the Cebu-Taipei route.
“Tigerair Taiwan’s presence in Cebu shall give Filipinos more access to fun, affordable, and memorable flights to Taipei. We look forward to this development before the year ends,” said Tigerair Taiwan spokesperson Bernard Hsu.
Tigerair flight IT537 will depart Taipei for Cebu every Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday. The return flight, IT538, will depart Cebu every Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday.
This month, the Taiwan Cooperative Bank (TCB) and Visa have implemented what both call Taiwan’s first standardized and EMV-compliant QR code payment.
Part of Financial Information Service Co.’s “Standardized QR Code Solutions,” the new EMV solution will be among the first large-scale deployments of standardized QR Code payments in Taiwan, initially covering more than 8,000 TCB acceptance points. In the future consumers can link their TCB Visa debit or credit cards with the Taiwan Mobile Payment mobile app to experience the security and convenience of mobile payment.
Visa announced plans to introduce QR code payment in Taiwan in July last year. It was meant as a response to the introduction of Apple Pay, Samsung Pay and Google Pay in March, May and June of the same year.
At the time, Visa said it had 35 million credit cards issued by 20 banks in Taiwan – presenting both a threat and opportunity for the card company with the introduction of alternative payment platforms for consumer retailers hooked to their smartphones.
In January 2018, mobile payment in Taiwan stood at just 13% – low for a highly developed economy renowned for leading innovation. In contrast, mobile payment in China accounted for 61.2% of the global user base in 2018. With the encouragement of Taiwan Premier, Lai Ching-te, the government is aiming to have 90% of mobile phone users using mobile payment by 2025.
“This roll-out will boost the bank’s already extensive acceptance footprint due to standardized QR Code’s cost-effectiveness as a payment method. We hope to help further advance Taiwan’s mobile payment for the benefits of all.” TCB chairman Chung-Dar Lei.
Marco Ma, General Manager of Visa Taiwan, added that “the EMV QR Code Specifications are intended to be globally interoperable, and with the right mobile application local consumers, as well as overseas travelers will be able to use the same QR Code to make payments everywhere the specifications have been adopted, opening up more revenue sources beyond Taiwan.”
TCB’s EMV QR code solution offers extensive payment applications including payments for credit card bills, utilities, insurance premiums, tuition fees, air tickets, taxes, food and e-commerce purchases.
International health and beauty retailer AS Watson has initiated a global VIP loyalty program.
The group has announced the program to enhance its connectivity with customers, planning to extend it to all of its 130 million loyalty members in 24 markets by early next year. It is an additional and invitation-only tier of membership which aims to reward and retain top customers.
Malina Ngai, group COO of AS Watson Group, said: “We appreciate our customers, no matter how much they spend in our stores, and we know they love to feel valued. Our existing loyalty programs reward everyone with great offers, but our VIP programs thank our most loyal customers for shopping with us with amazing benefits and even more tailored rewards.”
AS Watson first invested in CRM programmes back in 2010. Data insights and analysis of the programs have since revealed that around two thirds of the brand’s customers who qualify as “VIP members” continue their membership in the following year. These VIP members spend up to eight times more than average members annually. This year, the newly-qualified VIP members’ spending saw a year-on-year double-digit increase.
Many of the new advantages are personalised to the individual or otherwise considered valuable to the lifestyle of the local customer – for example, free health and wellbeing classes in Watsons China, and cooking classes for Watsons Malaysia VIP members.
This year, AS Watson has also launched its DataLab initiative to examine its average of 4300 terabytes of customer data every three years, extracting customer insights to provide more personalised, exclusive offers.
Ngai added: “With cutting-edge data technology, we are turning transactions to interaction and that is how we are staying connected with our customers.”
Foreign exchange losses hobbled the recovery of Hong Kong-headquartered fast-fashion label Bossini.
In full-year results just released, Bossini reported a 3 per cent decline in total revenue to HK$1.958 billion (US$249.6 million), largely due to a decrease in sales from the export franchising business. However gross margin rose rose two percentage points to 53 per cent.
While same-store profit rose by 1 per cent, the company reported a loss attributable to shareholders of $29 million, compared with a profit of $5 million last year.
Mainland China and Taiwan were standout same-store sales performers, recording 6 per cent and 3 per cent growth for the year respectively. Bossini’s export franchising business added three new markets during the year: Laos, the Czech Republic and Rwanda, taking its footprint to 25 countries.
In a stock exchange filing, Bossini said its operating profits from its retail businesses in Hong Kong, Macau, Mainland China, Taiwan and Singapore all improved. Hong Kong and Macau account for about 50 per cent of the brand’s sales.
“Nevertheless, the group’s profit attributable to owners posted a decline mainly due to the foreign exchange fluctuation arising from Renminbi,” wrote chairman Man Kuen Bess Tsin.
“The decrease in the profit derived from the export franchising business, as a result of the continuously weak and competitive apparel retailing environment, was another reason for the drop.”
Same-store sales by market
Same-store sales in Hong Kong and Macau slipped 2 per cent and in Singapore by 5 per cent – well below the respective falls of 9 per cent and 11 per cent the previous year.
Same-store sales in Mainland China and Taiwan grew by 6 per cent and 3 per cent, a turnaround from drops of 5 per cent and 7 per cent last year.
Company-wide same-store sales fell 1 per cent compared with an 8 per cent drop last year.
As at June 30, Bossini had 938 stores internationally, 284 directly managed and 654 franchised. Its Hong Kong and Macau network held steady at 40.
During the year, it opened one new store in Taiwan, taking its network there to 64, and it closed two in Singapore, for a net 16.
The Taipei Living Mall retail complex is up for sale for NT$38 billion (US$1.23 billion).
The mall’s owners, Core Pacific City, have described the project “a failure”. It was constructed on a syndicated loan of NT$12 billion two decades ago, and the debt is timed to mature next year. The 16,483sqm plot it stands on could potentially yield higher returns if converted to luxury rental properties.
Taipei Living Mall is the largest private property made available for sale in decades. Cushman & Wakefield Taiwan GM Billy Yen commented: “It is not the best timing to sell properties these days, so I recommended a price concession and the owner accepted it.” The property could attract a significantly higher price in a boom market.
Investors from Singapore, Hong Kong and China have submitted expressions of interest in the asset.
US luxury fashion retailer Fred Segal is planning to expand its business in Asia with new stores opening in Taiwan and Malaysia.
The move picks up on previously delayed plans to grow internationally that were announced four years ago. New CEO Allison Samek is launching the new stores after an austerity period during which several outlets were shuttered.
The 3200sqft store in Kuala Lumpur will be set up in the 1 Utama shopping center and include a cafe, retailing a mix of established labels. The Taipei store will be a Frierson-branded flagship spanning two floors across over 7000sqft of retail space. Both locations will open next month.
“We really looked to the local operating partner to give us feedback on what works in their marketplace and then bought specifically for that demographic,” said Samek.
The firm is simultaneously establishing its first presence in Europe with outlets in Switzerland.
Sportswear retailer Adidas has failed in its bid to prevent a Taiwanese business from registering a visually similar trademark in Singapore.
The Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS) rejected an Adidas lawsuit against Lutong Enterprise Corp, dismissing the claim that the similarities could potentially cause confusion in the market and allowing Lutong to carry on with registration.
Both logos feature three sloping lines, although the Lutong logo includes a circle and has lines sloping in the opposite direction to the Adidas logo.
The principal assistant registrar wrote: “A triangle whose right angle points upwards may give the visual impression of a mountain, or at least of something grounded. A triangle whose right angle points downwards gives a significantly different visual impression, that of something en pointe, perched or being balanced.”
The brand marks were thus judged to be more different than similar.
Lutong’s logo was designed around eight years earlier than the Adidas logo.
Germany, South Korea and Hong Kong have blocked Lutong from using the logo.
Singapore-listed restaurateur Jumbo Group has opened its first Ng Ah Sio Bak Kut Teh restaurant in Taiwan.
The new venue, which specialises in peppered pork soup, is situated in a 1400sqft space in Taipei’s Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Mall, seating 86 guests. It is operated by local franchisee Ho Sing Food, which intends to open at least 19 more outlets in the country.
Jumbo CEO Ang Kiam Meng said the introduction of Ng Ah Sio Bak Kut Teh to Taiwan marks a key milestone for the group and is testament to the company’s growing presence in the Asian consumer market.
“We are excited to bring one of the most-loved Singaporean heritage dishes to Taiwan, and aim to leverage the potential demand for Singapore’s cuisine in the Taiwanese consumer market, together with our franchise partner.”
The group runs Jumbo-branded franchises in Vietnam, Taiwan and Thailand.