Singapore

The following 10 winners each won a copy of “Store Wars: The Worldwide Battle for Mindspace and Shelfspace, Online and In-store” by Greg Thain and John Bradley. The book contest is brought to readers by Retail Asia and Wiley. 

At the RETAIL ASIA Leadership Forum on November 10 in Singapore, keynote presenter Greg Thain, CEO of Storewars International, and other panellists shared engaging views about how retail will change, the use of technology, and new consumer trends. Sharon Tian reports.

I

Global brands are expanding into Asia Pacific at an unprecedented rate as a result of rapid urbanisation and a growing middle class. But which country will reign supreme as Asia’s retail hotspot? Lee Fong, senior manager at JLL Research Asia Pacific, based in Hong Kong,explores trends shaping the region’s key shopping destinations. 

NEC Asia Pacific has introduced a 4K Ultra High Definition Videowall solution, suitable for branding applications in the retail sector.

Lift12, a Singapore-based fashion company, aspires to be as successful as Zara. Just over a year in operations, Lift12 has already established a foothold in China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand, and it plans to expand into the Australian market.

Home-Fix, Singapore’s leading home improvement and lifestyle store, has introduced a new concept store, Elements by Home-Fixat Marina Square. Beyond the hardware, the new store offers ‘software’ that transforms a house into a home, including consulting services and professional solutions.

Years of working on her retail entrepreneurial business, Poetree Creations, has given Jessie Wong a hard-nosed understanding of what modern consumers appreciate in a product.

Clarks, one of the world’s oldest footwear brand and known for its ‘Everyday Footwear’, is set on a new marketing and distribution strategy to expand its presence in Asia Pacific, particularly China. Retail Asia finds out more from Doug Searle, vice-president of Operational Development for Clarks Asia Pacific. 

As the consumer, retail and development boom goes on across most of Asia, it is an exciting time for the shopping centre development industry throughout Asia, said Michael P. Kercheval, President & CEO of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC).

A survey has identified a strong link between employee engagement and controlling retail losses. But improving employee engagement is only one of many recommended best practices to help retailers sell more and lose less.

Top-tier shopping centres of the future must offer more than diamonds and designer fashions to attract the region’s sophisticated demographic of luxury shoppers; they need to wow their target market with futuristic technology and bespoke experiences. Adam Cook, who leads Retail Project and Development Services for real estate firm JLL, shares more.

NTUC FairPrice has introduced Click&Collect, an extension of FairPrice’s online store, to provide greater convenience to customers.

The convergence of physical and virtual environments allows customers to do more with less, resulting in the new 4Ps in retail customer behaviours:

For years now, the world has witnessed the breathtaking growth of e-commerce – particularly its B2C segment. Globally, B2C sales broke the US$1 trillion mark in 2012 and have not stopped expanding at an awesome pace since. Analysts believe that B2C e-commerce would grow by a massive 20% this year to hit US$1.5 trillion worldwide. The Asia-Pacific region has been the powerhouse of this phenomenal growth. Last year, the year-end holiday shopping season saw numerous record highs in B2C sales. This year’s holiday season would see online shopping continuing to ace retail sales across the region – clearly spelling serious implications for Asian retailers...

Thomson Reuters/INSEAD Survey finds steep decline in business sentiment among Asia’s companies concerned with the uncertain global economy and rising costs.