Consumer Electronics
Indonesia's XL launches million dollar virtual store
Indonesia-based mobile phone operator PT XL Axiata has invested approximately USD1 million in constructing a virtual store, called myXL Store, which the operator expects to boost the sales of data packages as well as ring-tones.
Revie Sylviana, general manager for content and application at XL, said that a significant portion of the investment went into acquiring the necessary hardware, such as servers, and hiring the right application developers to create the store.
China's Suning taps general goods for income
Suning Appliance Co, China's largest home appliance retailer, will include more general merchandise to diversify its revenue stream as it completes upgrading of existing stores this year.
By the end of this year, all of Suning's existing outlets will also serve as pick-up points for orders placed on Yigou, its online shopping arm unit. Last year, Yigou's sales hit CNY18.3 billion (USD2.93b), more than tripled from 2011, but still fell short of the CNY20b target.
Retail, banking top reasons for HK consumers' interest in in-app advertising
Advertising within apps in categories such as shopping and retail (41 percent) and banking and finance (39 percent) were the top reasons why Hong Kong consumers are drawn to mobile advertising, a new GfK Hong Kong study revealed.
Walter Leung, Managing Director for GfK Hong Kong, said that this is a good reason for marketers to create and establish a strong presence among the rapidly widening base of tablets users.
RetailWATCH: Tyco Retail Solutions Wins Coveted Green Supply Chain Award
Tyco Retail Solutions, a leading global provider of retail performance and security solutions announces they have earned a prestigious “2012 Green Supply Chain Award” from Supply & Demand Chain Executive magazine.
CSC to become No.3 in Thai mobile retail market this year
CSC, a leading information technology chain store in Thailand, is broadening its product range to include higher-margin smartphones and tablets in a drive to increase revenue and offset declining notebook sales. The company aims to become number three in the Thai mobile retail market this year, behind Jay Mart and TG Fone.
The strategic move is expected to almost double its revenue from THB3.4 billion (USD114 million) last year to THB6b this year before surging to THB10b next year, said CEO Pichai Neranartkomol.
Apple puts expansion focus on SE Asia
As well as its expansion plans at or near existing sites, Apple is also planning to open a further 30 stores.
In a keynote speech last week at the Goldman Sachs investor conference, Apple’s CEO Tim Cook revealed that its growing retail chain already receives roughly 10 million visitors a week and a number of existing stores are no longer large enough to keep up with growing customer numbers.
Optus spends up in Telstra chase
Australia's second biggest telco Optus is investing heavily in network capacity to catch up with key rival Telstra and capitalise on the growing demands of data-hungry consumers.
The telco also outlined plans to overhaul its retail footprint, including cutting ties with distributors Telechoice and Allphones as part of its strategy of bringing sales back in-house.
Samsung to sell 'made in India' handsets in China
South Korean electronics major, Samsung, which launched the new Rex series of smart feature handsets today, plans to sell the first completely ‘made-in-India’ handsets in the Chinese market. “We will sell the handsets in other growth markets, including China, west Asian countries, and Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), besides India,” said Asim Warsi, vice-president (sales), Mobile Business, Samsung Electronics.
Vodafone Australia's revenue slips as customers drop out
Vodafone share of revenue from its Australian subsidiary fell by 16 percent in the last three months of 2012 as it continued to lose thousands of customers.
Accounts released on Thursday by Vodafone's European-based parent showed its Australian business lost 64,000 customers in the three months to 31 December, to 3.11 million.
As Vodafone Plc reports half of results of Vodafone Hutchison Australia (VHA), this translates to VHA losing about 128,000 customers in the quarter, to a total of 6.34 million customers.
Tablet sales in Malaysia jump 87pc in 2012
Tablet adoption in Malaysia grew 87 percent in 2012, with sales jumping from 384,000 units sold in 2011 to 823,000 units sold in 2012.
Data from GfK Malaysia showed that the total worth of the tablet industry in the country in the last 12 months reached USD415 million.
