Technology
After rough patch in China, Yum looks to repair image
Yum Brands Inc, the largest foreign fast-food chain in China, is strengthening its media strategy in the country in a bid to win back customer loyalty after a series of food scares that decimated sales this year.
State media and social web sites criticised Yum's response to charges in December that there were too many chemicals in chicken dishes at its KFC restaurants. An avian flu scare earlier this year and reports of false mutton being sold in China have affected both its KFC and Little Sheep chains.
Taking Stock: Watami manages labor shortage with queuing kiosk
The high staff turnover and competing market is a common problem among retailers and restaurants. Japanese casual dining restaurant group Watami Group was no exception.
The popular Japan chain restaurant is often found with diners in long queue and extended waiting times for tables. Queuing time could be as long as an hour during lunch and after-work peak hours. To keep the hungry and impatient diners happy, Watami had to dedicate a server at the reception area to manage the waiting crowd.
Shopping centres in Australia cut rents in bid to keep vacancies low
The pressure on Australia's specialty retailers from the internet, higher savings by households and a basic loss of interest in what they have for sale, has forced landlords to cut rents in a bid to keep vacancy rates low at shopping centres.
While it's not at a crisis point for the landlords, rents have fallen, on average, by 0.5 percent in the past year to the end of March, for stores that sell anything else but food.
Yonghui Superstores to enter Shanghai and Guangzhou
After making its presence in Beijing, Yonghui Superstores planned to enter Shanghai and Guangzhou and complete its store expansion in first-tier cities in China.
Its growth in the country's capital made it determined to carry out its strategy of doing business in the first-tier cities. However, retail landscape seemed more complicated in the two cities in southern China than that in Beijing as consumers there were more demanding. Though it was strong in fresh food products, Yonghui Superstores tended to have a bumpy journey into those two cities.
M&S sees gains from infrastructure, ecommerce upgrades
Marks & Spencer, UK's biggest clothing retailer, said on Wednesday it was on track with a plan to address two decades of under-investment in its infrastructure and create a fast, agile and flexible supply chain.
M&S is spending GBP1 billion (USD1.56b) over six years to 2015 on logistics, IT and systems, as it seeks to become an international multi-channel retailer – connecting with customers through stores, the Internet and mobile phones.
Local retailers in Australia stage online fightback
Once ignored in favour of glitzy offshore websites with their steep discounts, Australia's traditional bricks-and-mortar retailers are staging a fightback for the hearts, minds and wallets of local consumers to win a greater slice of online sales.
Although late to the party in terms of setting up credible and properly supported websites, the nation's retailers have recently invested heavily in their online sites, are now gaining traction online and curtailing channel-share losses to the pure-play operators, according to a new report by Commonwealth Bank.
Key Groupon exec departs for Staples after one year
The head of Groupon Inc's retail division will depart next week to lead Staples Inc's online and digital arm, after only about a year at the internet daily deals leader.
Faisal Masud joined Groupon in 2012 from eBay Inc to oversee "Groupon Goods", intended to compete more directly with eBay and Amazon.com Inc. Effective on 20 May, he will lead development of e-commerce for Staples, the office-supplies retail chain said in a statement on Tuesday.
Samsung set to open new Philippine concept store
Technology and gadget maker Samsung is going to open in Cebu its fifth destination or concept store in the Philippines in the third quarter of this year to satisfy the craving of high-tech consumers. The Cebu Samsung Destination store that will be situated in a 35-square metre area of the new wing of Ayala Center Cebu will be managed by Junrex Cellphones and Accessories Inc. and will open around October this year.
Philippines' Ayala Land jumpstarts dev’t of USD490m Circuit Makati
Property giant Ayala Land Inc. (ALI) has jumpstarted the PHP20-billion (USD489.5 million) development of the former Sta. Ana racetrack into a masterplanned entertainment and leisure district.
Circuit Makati will also have a two-hectare events ground for outdoor activities like football and skating. ALI is already in talks with an international football club to put up a football school in the events ground.
Study: Hong Kong retail rental growth spurs secondary locations
Retailers looking to emerging districts like Shatin and Tuen Mun to cash in on rising day-trip tourism
Despite robust retail sales growth in January and February, retailers remain cost-sensitive in the face of high rentals and as a result, overall retail rents in Hong Kong are expected to grow at a more moderate pace of about 5% for 2013, according to Jones Lang LaSalle’s latest Hong Kong Retail Market Report.
