| Global retail industry news |  |
- Censure raises questions about how sex is used in retail marketing
British advertising authorities have censured the fashion label Jack Wills, which is favoured by many schoolchildren, for publishing photographs of scantily clad women in its catalogue. Other companies have been at odds with the watchdog as well over public perception as they push the sexual boundaries. Tesco, for example, removed a home pole-dancing kit from its website's toys and games section. Telegraph (London) (06 Apr.)       - Sydney sees boom in openings of luxury stores
Burberry recently opened a flagship store in Sydney, becoming the latest in a number of larger, luxury store launches in the city. Bottega Veneta, Diane von Furstenberg, TAG Heuer, Salvatore Ferragamo and Hugo Boss have established new stores in Sydney in recent months. Prada is planning to open its own flagship store in July. The wave of openings is a sign of increased confidence in Sydney's marketplace. "Our new Sydney store is the most ambitious and expensive boutique we have ever opened," TAG Heuer CEO Jean-Christophe Babin said. "After just two months of operation, it was already our No. 1 store in the world." News.com.au (Australia)/The Australian (06 Apr.)  | Is your current phone system still the right choice for your business? Focus research indicates that Voice over Internet Protocol has become an attractive alternative to older telephone technologies for small businesses. Get an apples-to-apples review of key features and data points of the top 10 hosted VoIP phone system solutions by downloading this free white paper. |
 - M&S sales exceed estimates as new CEO Bolland makes his mark
In the 13 weeks ended April 2, Marks & Spencer Group suffered a 3.9% decline in same-store sales of non-food items, but the results beat market expectations. The retailer also forecast improved profitability. Marc Bolland, the new CEO at Marks & Spencer, is working to put his stamp on the retail giant by adding food lines, bolstering marketing efforts on clothing brands and adding retailing heavyweights to the company's senior management. Bloomberg (06 Apr.) - Carrefour to roll out commercial programme in Belgium
Lars Olofsson, chief executive officer at Carrefour, said the French retailing giant remains committed to its operations in Belgium following a significant restructuring there last year. "There is nothing that says to me that we should reconsider the decision we took last year. On the contrary, we are now going ahead with rolling out our commercial programme in Belgium," Olofsson said. Reuters (06 Apr.) - Former Tesco head Leahy rejects dismal retail projections
Terry Leahy, former head of Tesco, said stable oil prices will help the economy recover as he rejected predictions of doom in the UK retail industry. "I think we are in recovery. The economy will grow this year. It will be slow and steady," Leahy said. Several other retail executives have voiced concerns that the worst of the economic downturn has yet to hit British consumers and retailers. Reuters (06 Apr.)  - Japanese retailers predict gains in profits for 2011
Seven & I Holdings and FamilyMart, two major convenience store chains in Japan, are each forecasting slight increases in operating profits for the current business year. Their predictions suggest that Japan's general merchandise retailers are doing well despite the 11 March earthquake and tsunami that devastated much of the country. Meanwhile, Fast Retailing, a large casual clothing retailer in Japan, raised its profit forecast. Reuters (07 Apr.) - Hong Kong sees intense competition for retail space
Major brand names are showing a willingness to pay high sums for prime spots in Hong Kong. Abercrombie & Fitch, the US-based fashion retailer, reportedly is paying HK$7 million a month for a prime spot in Hong Kong's Pedder Building. "The momentum last year continues in 2011, as landlords of popular retail spots are demanding high rents," said Tony Lo Chin-ho, a director at Midland Shops. The Standard (Hong Kong) (07 Apr.)  | 8 of the world's top 10 brands build their business on Facebook with the Buddy Media Platform. What's your plan? Power Tools for Facebook. Register for demo |
 | E-commerce Spotlight |  | | | - Report: Websites must support 16 languages to be truly global
 Online merchants that want to sell their goods to all the world's consumers must create websites that support 16 different languages, according to new report from international consultant Common Sense Advisory. The firm ranked Google -- which has focused on gaining a global reach with tools such as Google translate -- first on its list of top-scoring global sites. FastCompany.com (05 Apr.) - Xiu.com raises $20 million in venture capital funding
Chinese luxury and fashion retail site Xiu.com confirmed that it received an investment from Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers in the merchant's first round of venture capital funding. "We were inspired by many successful B2C fashion websites in US and Europe, and compared with them, we still have at least 1,000% growth potential in China," said Xiu.com founder George (Wenhong) Ji. TechCrunch (06 Apr.) | Spotlight on Consumer Electronics | | | | | NRF News | | | |
| SmartQuote | | | |  | Nothing ever comes to one, that is worth having, except as a result of hard work."
--Booker T. Washington,
American educator and political leader  |
| | This SmartBrief was created for cpgbrokers.data@blogger.com
|
No comments:
Post a Comment
Please comment thoughtfully CPG Brokers, your best resource to optimize your in store self exposure and maximize sku distribution.