Labor
Avon to cut 1,500 jobs, leave 2 Asia markets
Avon Products says it will cut about 1,500 jobs and exit two Asian markets – South Korea and Vietnam – as the struggling beauty products seller takes initial steps toward its cost-cutting goal.
The job cuts amount to almost 4 percent of its workforce and mark one of the first major moves by CEO Sheri McCoy, who was brought on in April to replace longtime CEO Andrea Jung.
Starbucks to roll out 800 new stores, add over 18000 employees in China for next 3 years
After nearly 14 years of working to persuade China to buy into its foreign coffee culture, Starbucks Corp. is aiming to become more Chinese as it plans a rapid expansion in the country.
Belinda Wong, president of Starbucks China, said in an interview that Starbucks aims to roll out 800 new stores in the next three years to add to its existing fleet of 700. Over that period it will increase the number of employees to more than 30,000 from the current 12,000.
Global Retail Theft Barometer Study finds shrinkage in Japan is the 2nd-highest in the world
According to the fifth annual edition of the Global Retail Theft Barometer, retail shrinkage rate in Japan is 1.04 percent of sales, the third-lowest in the world. However, this rate was up 4 percent compared to the previous year. The total shrinkage amount – profit loss due to customer and employee theft, supplier/vendor fraud and administrative errors – in Japan reached JPY774 billion (USD9.96b), the second-highest worldwide, representing almost 53 percent of the total sum in the Asia-Pacific.
Big Mac eyes 75,000 new staff in China
McDonald's Corp, the world's largest restaurant chain, said it plans to hire 75,000 new employees in China this year as the company accelerates store expansion in the world's most populous country.
The new hiring represents an increase of as much as 83 percent of the Oak Brook, Illinois-based company's workforce in the Asian nation. McDonald's has more than 90,000 employees in China currently, the company said in e-mailed statement Thursday.
Starbucks opens Japanese tribute store
Reporting record revenue and profit for its FY2012, Starbucks Coffee Japan commemorates nearly 17 years in market and approaching 1,000 stores
Continued strong growth momentum in Japan focuses on state-of-the-art store design, investment in partners (employees) and product and digital innovations
Starbucks Coffee Company reaffirmed its confidence in Japan recently with the visit of Starbucks chairman, president and CEO Howard Schultz and plans to open its 1,000th store this summer.
Gartner names 3 enablers for demand-driven retail success
Research firm Gartner has identified three key enablers of demand-driven retail - the role of the supply chain, span of control and metrics maturity - following a survey conducted across six retail segments in Asia-Pacific, North America, and Western Europe.
Softbank to offer health service via smartphone
Softbank Corp. said it will launch this summer a health care service package for its smartphones that includes monitoring daily health conditions and fitness information as well as 24-hour telephone counselling.
At a news conference on Tuesday where the firm also released its new handset lineup, Softbank CEO Masayoshi Son said it is important to provide unique services to differentiate Softbank from its competitors because most handsets are powered by the same operating systems, such as Google's Android and Apple's iOS.
Expert Opinion: Capturing the world’s global shoppers
Despite a poor economic forecast for the past year, global tourism defied the odds and remained resilient. According to UNWTO World Tourism Barometer, 2012 saw a record 1.035 billion international tourists, a growth of 4 percent from 2011. Asia-Pacific led the way with one of the highest growth figures of 7 percent for in-bound tourist figures.
Multiply closes shop (Sorry it just didn't work out)
It's been a long and bumpy ride for online marketplace Multiply.com, which was headquartered in Indonesia and the Philippines in the last few years of its operations.
Fast Retailing to unify wages worldwide
As part of its efforts to recruit skilled workers and expand its global business by offering higher wages, the operator of the Uniqlo clothing chain will unify its payment system for its employees and executives worldwide, company officials said on Tuesday.
Employees of Fast Retailing Co. around the world in the same grade will receive equivalent pay, reflective of price levels in each country, to allow them to maintain a comparatively equal standard of living.
