China

Forever 21 has further expanded its chain of stores in China with the addition of a second outlet in Beijing.

About 450 Alibaba customers in China had their purchases delivered in a special way — by drones.

Alibaba is determined to tackle the issue of counterfeiting as it believes that “trust is an important currency that makes e-commerce platforms tick”.

AsiaInspection (AI), a quality control service provider that partners with brands, retailers and importers around the world to secure, manage and optimise their supply chain, has announced its 2014 Q4 Barometer, a quarterly synopsis on outsourced manufacturing and the quality control services industry.

China’s biggest annual shopping bonanza smashed records last month as online sales on Alibaba alone hit US$9.3 billion, more than the total racked up the same day last year across the industry.

Alibaba, China’s largest e-commerce company, last month became a publicly traded technology powerhouse after it launched a blockbuster share offering in New York that drew worldwide attention.

Taiwan’s Ruentex Group and China’s Sinopec Corporation are planning to open 300 convenience stores within Sinopec’s petrol stations.

Today's glitz is tomorrow's so-what? average. Intellivent and anticipatory mall design offers the solution for sustained shopper appeal, argues Jeremy Salmon, Shanghai-based director at global architecture, urbanism and design practice Broadway Malyan.

China’s sports apparel and equipment company, Li Ning, has selected an integrated portfolio of Oracle Retail planning and merchandising solutions to aid its business transformation from manufacturing and wholesale to greater reliance on direct-to-consumer retailing.

General Mills has inaugurated the company’s first innovation, technology and quality centre in China, signalling a commitment to drive greater innovation and investment in one of the company’s largest growth markets.

New Zealand dairy co-operative Fonterra and US healthcare company Abbott are planning to build up to five dairy farms in China to secure domestic supply to meet rising demand for milk in China.

China’s Food and Drug Administration will promote a food safety liability insurance programme in high-risk industries, such as those involving dairy and meat products, to help improve supervision, according to a state media report.

Chinese company Bright Food Group, which owns British cereal maker Weetabix Ltd, said it is seeking acquisitions and can pay as much as 10 billion yuan (US$1.06 billion) for a target.

British luxury leather brand Mulberry is beefing up its digital efforts for the Chinese market.

Tmall has expanded its array of brands with the addition of IT brand Crucial, which offers a wide range of computer memory upgrades (DRAM) and solid state drives (SSDs).

The 15th edition of SIAL China was a record-breaking event on many counts. A total of 2,385 exhibitors (an increase of 11% over 2013) took over 96,200sqm (an increase of 14% over 2013) of space at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre.