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Accenture has completed the acquisition of Kurt Salmon, a global strategy consulting rm focused on the retail industry and a subsidiary of Management Consulting Group.

Biok Marketing, a subsidiary of Booko of Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, is opening its first ‘Loved in Japan’ (or ‘preloved in Japan’) shop, ‘Jalan Jalan Japan’, this month in  Subang Jaya in Selangor, Malaysia.

New research has confirmed that the duty-free and travel retail sector faces a bright future at a time when other parts of the international retail market may continue to struggle, according to leading duty-free and travel retail trade association TFWA (Tax Free World Association). What is more, of the top 10 duty-free retailers, six come from Asia-Pacic, namely, South Korea, China, Hong Kong, Thailand, Singapore and Japan.

In the face of relentless competition, tight squeeze on margins and elusive customer demands, Asia-Pacific retailers are working hard to be faster, better and to deliver a compelling value proposition.

C-suite retailers, retail industry experts, and technology specialists from various countries in the region gathered at the Retail Asia-Pacific Top 500 Trends & Strategies Roundtable on October 28 at Sofitel Singapore Sentosa Resort & Spa for an interactive roundtable discussion.

Michael Andrews, New York’s premier bespoke clothier, made a significant expansion in its business with the launch of a made-to-order menswear collection — said to be the rest of its kind. Launched in 2006 with the goal of crafting the world’s finest tailoring, Michael Andrews has earned an international reputation for the quality and fit of its bespoke creations. Clients include Wall Street luminaries, Fortune 500 CEOs and foreign dignitaries, as well as award winning actors, world-renowned musicians and professional athletes.

Since its introduction in Singapore last year, Asahi Super Dry Black Lager has garnered a burgeoning fan base among restaurants and bar patrons, evidenced by a doubling of on-premise distribution and consumption by volume in just more than a year.

Ksubaka revealed that it has broken through the 5,000 barrier of installed playSpots across China. playSpots is a sophisticated realtime analytics platform providing campaign owners with deep data driven insight into activity results. These interactive kiosks connect with consumers at the physical point of purchase — for example, in stores by oering  fun mini games that take the consumer on a branded game journey. Key brand messages and information are played out through game play with rewards and hers redeemable once the session has been completed.

Growth via the F&B sector is in store for Hong Kong’s emerging districts, said a report published by real estate services provider CBRE. Called Hunger for growth — Unlocking opportunities in food and beverage retail, the report highlights how Hong Kong’s F&B sector has remained resilient despite the weak overall retail market. With numerous commercial and residential development projects planned for the next five years, CBRE predicts that the strong growth momentum of the F&B sector is unlikely to slow anytime soon.

Crown Equipment has released a new series of state-of-the-art lift trucks in South-east Asia. e new lift truck combines the benets of an order picker with the advantages of a counterbalance forklift.

Rakuten has acquired a 100% stake in Fablic, provider of FRIL, a consumer-to-consumer (C2C) marketplace mobile app, and has made the company a wholly-owned subsidiary. The acquisition price is undisclosed.

Grana, an international direct-toconsumer e-commerce fashion retailer, said it is raising US$10 million for its series A round led by Alibaba Group under the Hong Kong Entrepreneurs Fund, with participation from existing investors Golden Gate Ventures and Hong Kong-based MindWorks Ventures to support expansion plans in its highest growth market, the US, and build out its product offering into new categories with sportswear, bags and accessories.

 

Singapore-based SaladStop! chain of salad bars has raised S$5 million (US$3.6 million) from private equity firms Hera Capital and DSG Consumer Partners for a minority stake in the company.

Kicking off the fall season, shoe brand UGG, a division of Deckers Brands, unveiled a first look at its new campaign featuring the brand’s first-ever Global Women’s Ambassador, actress and supermodel Rosie Huntington-Whiteley.

TA ASSOCIATES, a global growth private equity firm, has invested in a US$140 million round for a minority stake in TCNS Clothing Company, a branded women’s apparel platform from India.