Nokia has announced that it has been chosen by Chunghwa Telecom (CHT) to expand the operator’s 5G network in Taiwan. The deal aims to support CHT’s objective of achieving 80 percent population coverage as well as boost 5G subscriptions to over 20 percent of its current subscriber base. The expansion will leverage products from Nokia’s AirScale portfolio to deliver enhanced connectivity for people and businesses in the southern and central areas of the country.
Tag: Taiwan
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Citigroup to exit consumer banking in Vietnam
America’s Citigroup will exit 13 international consumer banking markets, including Vietnam, to shift its focus to four wealth centers.
The move is part of the bank’s strategic decision to direct investments and resources to businesses with the greatest scale and growth potential, it stated, adding its main markets will include Singapore, Hong Kong, the United Arab Emirates and London.
Apart from Vietnam, 12 other markets to be affected are Australia, Bahrain, China, India, Indonesia, South Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Poland, Russia, Taiwan and Thailand.
“While the other 13 markets have excellent businesses, we don’t have the scale we need to compete. We believe our capital, investment dollars and other resources are better deployed against higher returning opportunities in wealth management and our institutional businesses in Asia.”
The bank has not specified when it would leave Vietnam.
Citigroup in 1994 became the first U.S. financial institution licensed to open a branch in Hanoi. It opened its second branch in Ho Chi Minh City in 1998.
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Flash Coffee to open 300 outlets after fresh funding round
Tech-enabled coffee chain Flash Coffee has raised US$15 million in its Series A funding led by White Star Capital, aiming to launch 300 stores this year.
The Series A round sets the total capital raised by Flash Coffee to US$20 million. Investors include Delivery Hero-backed DX Ventures, Global Founders Capital, and Conny & Co.
The raised funds will be used for accelerating Flash Coffee’s expansion plan in Asia. According to David Brunier, CEO of Flash Coffee, the company will enter into seven new markets this year: Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Vietnam.
“Our dream is to have a Flash Coffee every 500 meters in all major Asian cities,” said Brunier.
“We will also build a regional HQ in Singapore and expand our regional tech hub in Jakarta to 50 people to support our vision of fully leveraging technology to improve customer experience, proactively drive growth and significantly increase operational efficiency.”
Launched in January last year, Flash Coffee business model focuses on grab-and-go physical storefronts that rely on technology, allowing significant cost savings. The company now operates 50 outlets across Singapore, Thailand, and Indonesia.
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Bolttech expands in Taiwan via device protection partnership with Samsung
bolttech today announced its latest partnership with Samsung in Taiwan, together arranging for mobile device protection to owners of new Samsung Galaxy smartphones and tablets through the Samsung Care+ programme. The expansion of the bolttech and Samsung partnership follows recent tie-ups in Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam.
The Samsung Care+ programme in Taiwan will offer device repair and care services covering accidental and liquid damage as well as an extended warranty for up to one year after the expiry of the manufacturer’s warranty. It also covers device replacement for robbery and snatch theft and includes a convenient doorstep pickup and delivery. This programme is exclusively available in Samsung experience stores for selected Galaxy smartphone and tablet users.
Launched in 2020, bolttech is an international insurtech business integrating three complimentary capabilities – device protection, insurtech exchange, and digital insurance, with a mission to build the world’s leading technology-enabled ecosystem for insurance and protection.
Mark Simmons, Chief Executive Officer, Device Protection, bolttech, said, “We’re thrilled to build upon our collaboration with market leader Samsung to bring easy access to next-generation device protection to customers in Taiwan. Recognising the pain points for mobile phone users in Taiwan, we launched our door-to-door repair services to help customers stay connected when something goes wrong with their phones or tablets.”
More information about Samsung Care+ in Taiwan can be found here: https://www.samsung.com/tw/offer/samsung-care-plus/
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Shopee celebrates record-breaking 12.12 Birthday Sale
Shopee, the leading e-commerce platform in Southeast Asia and Taiwan, wraps up the year-end shopping season with a record-breaking 12.12 Birthday Sale. On 12 December, 12 million items were sold in the first 24 minutes and at its peak, 1 million items were bought in a single minute.
Terence Pang, Chief Operating Officer at Shopee said “We are humbled to end the year on a high note with a groundbreaking 12.12 Birthday Sale. Given the unprecedented year that 2020 has been, we wanted our fifth birthday to be a special day not just for Shopee but for the people we serve. E-commerce has become of increasing importance in our lives and has evolved beyond a platform to access basic needs to one that connects people and businesses. We are glad to have been able to celebrate the past five years with our users, sellers and brand partners and are truly excited for what is to come.”
Shopee ushered in the festive season with endless fun and greater convenience
Users joined Shopee every day for four weeks of fun and entertainment leading to 12 December, where they shopped from over 2 billion products. Consumers spent more time on Shopee’s in-app games and features, which offered greater rewards and value.
- 450 million views were recorded on Shopee Live across the entire 12.12
- Shopee’s in-app games were played a record of 2.7 billion times
- Two of Shopee’s newest games, Shopee Bubble and Shopee Candy were a big hit, with a total of 28 million hours played
The surge in shopping activity was also met with increasing adoption of digital payments. In particular, users enjoyed the convenience of Shopee’s integrated mobile wallet AirPay, with orders paid via the mobile wallet surging 18 times from an average day.
12.12 Birthday Sale highlights in Thailand
In Thailand, users enjoyed a constant stream of attractive deals on 12 December, supported by Shopee’s robust ecosystem.
Thais took this chance to fulfil all their essential and entertainment needs with Home & Living, Beauty & Personal Care and Mobile & Gadgets emerging as the best-selling product categories.
- Home & Living: Consumers took the time to revitalise their homes on 12 December, with more than 100,000 3D Wallpapers sold.
- Beauty & Personal Care: Skincare was a big priority as people geared up for the festive season and the new year with 550,000 skincare products sold on 12 December.
- Mobile & Gadgets: There was strong demand for new phones, gadgets, and electronics accessories. In particular, 400,000 smartphone accessories were sold on 12 December
- Top Keyword search: On 12 December, the top keywords searched were “iPhone case” and “New Year Gift”, as Thais looked to treat themselves and their loved ones ahead of the new year.
- Strong demand in the major cities: Shopping activity was highest in Bangkok on 12 December. At its peak, 500,000 items were sold in an hour.
Powered by the surge in shopping activity, sales peaked for businesses on Shopee. A top electronics retailer recorded THB 7 million in sales per hour on 12 December.
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Foodpanda grows q-commerce with more than 2,500 7-Eleven stores across Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan and the Philippines
What’s more convenient than a convenience store? An online one, of course – delivering food, and essentials to customers’ doorsteps quickly, at the touch of a button. foodpanda, the leading delivery platform in Asia Pacific, marks a new milestone with the announcement of more than 2,500 7-Eleven stores on its app, making the leading convenient store available in Singapore, Taiwan, Malaysia and the Philippines.
With this partnership, foodpanda brings hundreds of 7-Eleven items including hot food, ready-to-eat insta-meals, snacks and alcohol and even pre-paid mobile phone cards into customers’ hands within an average delivery time of 20 minutes. Deliveries can be made anytime, anywhere, 24/7 via foodpanda.
In the beta phase for integration into the foodpanda “shops” feature, the number of 7-Eleven orders on foodpanda shops grew 50% month-on-month over the past six months. 7-Eleven stores on foodpanda offer over 1,000 unique items on average across the four markets.
The most convenient convenience store, powered by technology
As a pioneer in quick commerce, or q-commerce, foodpanda believes in using technology to better the lives of their customers. With 7-Eleven – a brand synonymous with convenience – on the foodpanda platform, consumers enjoy easy access to the choice and variety for their daily essentials.
In the Philippines, the largest variety available from a 7-Eleven store via foodpanda is almost 1,600 unique items. In Taiwan, consumers have a preference for post-dinner orders from 8pm to midnight, especially for snacks. We see similar trends across the other markets in Asia as foodpanda continues to provide consumers with better varieties and access to on-demand convenience.
Industry watchers like IGD have predicted growth in online grocery retail with more brick-and-mortar retailers partnering with delivery and technology companies to grow their online footprint, even prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. This is in line with the rise of the ‘convenience economy’ over the past few years, as consumers get accustomed to food and grocery deliveries. COVID-19 has accelerated this evolution and process. IGD reported that online grocery penetration is expected to remain at elevated rates post-COVID-19 as consumers stay home more. The report also predicts that consumers will continue using online deliveries when social distancing measures are lifted to save time.
As a leading platform for on-demand deliveries in the Asia Pacific region, foodpanda supports the entire delivery ecosystem to ensure that it satisfies consumers’ appetite for greater choice and convenience through its expansion plans. This partnership underscores foodpanda’s dual focus on growing its core food delivery business as well as its q-commerce offerings.
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Alibaba’s Taobao to exit Taiwan over political tensions
Taiwan on Monday gave the domestic branch of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd’s e-commerce site Taobao six months to re-register as a Chinese investment rather than a foreign one, or leave, in the government’s latest shot against Chinese firms.
Amid growing political tension, Taiwan has stepped up oversight of Chinese investment and the operations of Chinese tech firms on the island.
Last week it said it planned to stop local sales of Chinese internet television streaming services, though it does not plan to block them.
The investment commission of Taiwan’s Economics Ministry said Taobao Taiwan was operated by a British-registered company called Claddagh Venture Investment, an investment firm that was in effect controlled by Alibaba.
The commission was also concerned about information security as user data was sent back to China, it said, adding that Taobao Taiwan had been fined T$410,000 ($13,960) and had six months to either withdraw its investment, or re-register.
“We do not consider the company as foreign investment,” commission spokesman Su Chi-Yun told Reuters. “They will have to decide whether to disinvest or rectify their investment.”
The company should have registered as a Chinese investment, but came in as foreign investment instead since “it’s more convenient,” he added.
Taiwan treats investment from foreign countries differently than that from China, with far more stringent rules.
Su said even if Taobao chose to register as Chinese investment in Taiwan, it could still fall afoul of rules barring Chinese companies from sectors vital to its business model, such as third-party payments or advertising.
Claddagh’s Taiwan office expressed regret at the move and said it had received no formal notification from the government, but that it respected the decision and would “carry out rectification as soon as possible.” It did not give details.
Taobao Taiwan, launched last year, has previously said it was an entirely different platform from Taobao China.
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7-Eleven in Taiwan to offer restaurant grade fresh meals
Convenience store chain 7-Eleven in Taiwan has partnered with a restaurant and a hotel to offer fresh-cooked meals to consumers.
The service, launching this week at the Dongxing Road outlet in Taipei, will retail assorted boxed meals targeting office workers following seven different menus prepared for the venture by Regent Taipei chefs and restaurant Su/food.
Customers are invited to place advance orders for the meals, to be picked up on the same or following day at noon. The partnering providers will deliver the meals to the participating stores, which will store them to preserve the temperature.
7-Eleven in Taiwan expects the venture to increase its meal sales by 10 to 20 percent. After a trial period, the concept is expected to be rolled out more widely.
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Don Don Donki lifting off in Taiwan
Japanese discount retailer Don Don Donki is set to make its debut in Taipei. As yet, the company has not revealed any details regarding the location or opening date, however, various sources have confirmed the store will trade 24-seven in the popular shopping destination of Ximendeng.
New of the company’s Taiwanese debut spread quickly after advertising was spotted to recruit around 400 employees.
With over 160 branches in Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, and Hawaii, this will be Don Don Donki’s first venture in Taiwan.
Don Don Donki is a favorite destination for Taiwanese visitors to Japan. The discounter had previously launched a free international shipping promotion on its e-commerce platform last year, proving the brand’s appeal to Taiwanese fans.
Meanwhile, Don Don Donki’s fifth Hong Kong outlet of the year is expected to open in Central next month in October. Its owner, Japanese group Pan Pacific, has been aggressively expanding within the Asian region in the past year, from Thailand to Malaysia.
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Starbucks China opens first coffee outlet made of containers
Starbucks has just unveiled a new concept store in China created inside six repurposed shipping containers.
An identical concept, created by Japanese architect Kengo Kuma, first appeared in Taiwan. As the 800th store in Shanghai, the Starbucks container store helped set a new record for the city – it has more Starbucks stores than any other city in the world.
The cafe is located at Shanghai’s Wisdom Bay Science Innovation Park, on space which was formerly home to warehouses and container storage yards.
Today, the area has been gentrified, converting abandoned cargo containers into office spaces as well has housed the nation’s first museum of 3D printing.
Elements of the Silicon Valley-esque structure have also been replicated inside the store to create ‘cultural coffee experiences’, an art gallery and a wall installation art piece created by a 3D printer.
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iKala raises US$17M Series B to expand global footprint
iKala, Asia’s leading AI company headquartered in Taiwan, has raised US$17M in a Series B round of funding led by Wistron Digital Technology Holding Company, a Wistron Corporation’s wholly-owned subsidiary which focuses on digital technology industries and software application related investments. Previous investors Hotung Investment Holdings Limited and Pacific Venture Partners are also coming in, showing confidence in iKala’s practical AI and digital solutions and SEA cross-border operational efficiency.
The latest round of funding takes the company’s total funding to US$30.3 million and will be used to further fuel iKala’s AI and digital technologies innovation. Equally, it signals the company’s expansion into new markets including Indonesia and Malaysia, while strengthening its position in its existing key markets of Singapore, Thailand, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Philippines, Vietnam and Japan.
This strategic investment marks the lead investor Wistron Digital Technology Holding Company, which also focuses on big data analytics, entry into Southeast Asia. Together, both companies are confident of propelling the region’s digital transformation journey forward and facilitate the development of Artificial Intelligence technology and software.
“We’ve been on a strong growth trajectory over the last couple of years, expanding into new markets and developing cutting-edge technology that has put us in a leading position in the region’s digital transformation and commerce space. With this funding, we look forward to exploring new opportunities in AI commerce beyond our existing markets,” said Sega Cheng, co-founder and CEO of iKala.
“Taiwan has an excellent reputation for having some of the best high tech talents in both hardware and software around the region. With Wistron as a strategic partner, iKala can become a major driving force for transforming Taiwan into an AI industry and talent hub in Asia,” said Dr. Lee-Feng Chien, iKala’s board member, former Google Taiwan managing director, who joined earlier this year.
“As part of the Fortune Global 500 and as a TSP (Technical Service Provider) company, iKala’s AI and software capabilities will be a value-adding element to Wistron’s long-held and leading hardware industry presence. We have heavily invested ourselves in digital transformation and further creation of new business to provide our clients with new opportunities brought by digital transformation,” said Robert Hwang, Vice Chairman & President of New Business, Wistron.
Following its exceptional growth in the cloud and digital transformation industry since Series A round of funding early last year, iKala established a new division in June: iKala Commerce. The new solution consolidates AI-powered influencer database KOL Radar, and AI social commerce solution Shoplus, to provide an integrated solution and holistic customer data insights for the region’s social commerce players.
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Jason Wu opens first store in Shanghai
Taiwanese-Canadian designer Jason Wu has opened his first global flagship boutique in Shanghai, China.
Located at IFC Mall, the flagship store features a sophisticated design created by architect Andre Mellone. The studio previously designed a Jason Wu shop-in-shop at Saks Fifth Avenue in New York and the Jason Wu fragrance bottle.
The store facade features a floor-to-ceiling glass wall and a digital screen illustrating the brand’s name. Gold color and marble patterns are used liberally in the Jason Wu boutique’s design such as gold metal racks and frames, gold rose marble walls, and marble display tables.
A black wooden table and a large carpet are placed at the store’s center.
The Jason Wu Shanghai boutique houses a wide range of fashion items and fragrances.
Jason Wu is known for designing dresses worn by former First Lady Michelle Obama on several occasions, including those worn during the first and second inauguration of her husband, President Barack Obama.
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Dairy Farm sells Wellcome Taiwan to Carrefour
Hong Kong-headquartered Dairy Farm is to sell its Wellcome Taiwan grocery retail business to Carrefour, with settlement later this year after regulatory approvals have been granted. The deal – worth about €97 million – includes about 224 stores and warehouses, along with some property assets. Wellcome Taiwan’s turnover last year was approximately €390 million.
The business currently has 199 Wellcome stores with an average sales area of 420sqm – and 25 Jasons, with an average sales area of 820 sqm. The Dairy Farm stores trading under the Wellcome banner will be converted to its Market format, and those trading under Jason’s brand will be converted to the Carrefour format.
“Dairy Farm believes this change of ownership will set the business up for future growth and prosperity, building on Wellcome’s strong sales momentum over the past 12 months following the successful implementation of its price reinvestment campaign and increasing customer loyalty,” the Hong Kong company said in a statement.
“This strengthened network represents greater opportunities for our team members as well as better service and value to our customers.”
A spokesperson for Dairy Farm told Inside Retail Asia that the company was committed to its remaining major investment in Taiwan, Ikea.
“Ikea Taiwan remains very much part of Dairy Farm’s portfolio. Through the Ikea brand, Dairy Farm is committed to delivering a unique home furnishing and Swedish food experience to our customers in Taiwan.”
Meanwhile, the MD of Wellcome Taiwan, Laurent Piazza, says the sale is a testament to the hard work and determination of the Dairy Farm team to offer the best to its customers.
“By bringing these businesses together, team members and customers will benefit from being served by a larger group that can use their combined strength and scale to improve quality, service, and price competition.
“We have complete confidence in the future success of the business and believe, by bringing these businesses together, we have created a strong future for the team and a better shopping experience for our customers.”
Carrefour currently operates 137 stores in Taiwan, including 69 under its Market banner. The group posted net sales of €1.968 billion last year and posted pre-tax earnings of €209 million.
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Taiwan’s Eslite to make Southeast Asian debut in Malaysia
Taiwanese bookstore chain Eslite is preparing to launch in Kuala Lumpur.
Although final details have yet to be released, the new 3300–6600sqm store will likely trade in downtown Kuala Lumpur. The opening, scheduled for next year and potentially delayed due to Covid-19 concerns, will see Taiwan’s largest bookseller opening its first store in Malaysia. Earlier reports have suggested the firm has been seeking a partner in the territory for some time.
The 30-year-old chain is well known for its unique fusion retail business model as a bookstore, mall and cultural creative platform. It operates 48 stores in Taiwan as well as overseas outlets in Hong Kong, Mainland China and Japan. The Malaysian store will be the first Eslite outlet in Southeast Asia.
Despite the expansion, Eslite’s business has struggled in its home territory, prompting a series of high-profile store closures, including its flagship location in Dunnan where it famously traded 24 hours.
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Taiwan’s Hung Rui Chen sandwich chain opening in Hong Kong
Local and tourist favorite sandwich maker Hung Rui Chen will be opening a flagship store in Hong Kong this August.
Hung Rui Chen is a 73-year-old brand, known for its signature sandwiches and recognized as a national local delicacy for its soft bread and unique spread.
After an incident of suspected food poisoning from counterfeit operators in Hong Kong and Taiwan, the real Hung Rui Chen company issued a statement on Facebook to clarify that its own brand will open its first official store in Hong Kong.
The location has yet to be confirmed.
Back in 2015, Hung Rui Chen sandwiches imported from Taiwan and sold in grocery stores and on the Groupon platform led to 46 Hongkongers contracting food poisoning. The brand was subsequently banned by the Centre for Food Safety.