Indian consumers' appetite for luxury goods remains strong

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07 September 2011 Sign up Forward Archive Advertise Global retail industry news   Global Industry Watch    Australia's Forever New aims to become global retailer Australian shoppers have been reining in their spending, prompting many fashion chains in the country to pare back, but Forever New is bucking the trend by aiming to become a global retail force. "Forever New is evolving from an Australian company with exposure in overseas markets to a global retailer with Australian headquarters," according to a company spokeswoman. "The company was restructured in 2010 to support this growth, although the ownership remains unchanged." The Sydney Morning Herald (Australia) (07 Sep.)      Harvey continues to blast offshore online retailers Gerry Harvey of Australia's Harvey Norman says that his prediction several months ago that less expensive offshore retail sites would hurt local businesses is starting to materialize. "When I first brought that up, that online thing back at Christmas time, what I said at the time is now happening," Harvey said. "You've got shop after shop in trouble." However, the online retailers have not yet hurt sales at Harvey Norman. The Sydney Morning Herald (Australia)/Australian Associated Press (06 Sep.)      ERP & BI: When 1 + 1 = 3 For the majority of fast growing businesses today spreadsheets are still of vital importance. However, the tide is turning on spreadsheets. In this whitepaper, discover why more and more, fast growing businesses are turning to enterprise resource planning (ERP) and business intelligence (BI) solutions to provide the control and visibility they need.   Retail in Europe    N. Ireland retail groups differ on how to strengthen sector Northern Ireland's retail sector has a high vacancy rate, according to the British Retail Consortium. Groups representing retailers have a number of ideas for strengthening the country's retail sector, but the proposals are at odds with one another. Belfast Telegraph (Northern Ireland) (06 Sep.)      SuperGroup plans to accelerate openings SuperGroup, owner of the Superdry and Cult brands, reported a 66% surge in total group sales in the three months ending July 31. The company said it would ramp up its store expansion plans. CEO Julian Dunkerton said he is excited about the future prospects for the company. Google/The Press Association (U.K.) (07 Sep.), Reuters (07 Sep.)      JJB Sports dangles lucrative bonuses in front of bosses JJB Sports has launched a share bonus scheme for its top executives and some senior managers in an effort to retain the executives and encourage them to turn around the troubled retailer. For JJB Sports CEO and chairman, the schemes could be worth millions of pounds. The Independent (London) (06 Sep.)      Other News Increase in July eurozone retail sales exceeds expectations The Washington Post/The Associated Press (05 Sep.)      Let Social Media Find Your Staff For You Give your hiring managers fast, easy access to quality employees by pairing social media with automated recruitment solutions that use Web 2.0 functionality. Download the white paper Automating Social Recruiting for Better Hiring and see how 85 percent of best-in-class companies save money with automation.   Retail in Asia    IKEA to invest millions to develop Shanghai shopping centre Inter IKEA Centre Group, the mall-development division of the Swedish retailer, plans to invest up to 4 billion yuan developing a shopping mall in Shanghai. John Tegner, managing director at Inter IKEA, said the new shopping centre could be open by 2016. Bloomberg (06 Sep.)      3 Lessons for Mobile Retailers from the Entertainment Industry Learn how to use mobile to generate the highest consumer engagement and conversion rates by: • Customizing the mobile experience • Scaling for delivery across mobile devices • Connecting the online and offline worlds   Retail in Latin America    Walmex reports 7.9% rise in total sales in August Wal-Mart de Mexico said total sales reached 30.60 billion pesos in August, a 7.9% increase over the same period last year. Same-store sales, meanwhile, were up 0.9%. Walmex said its Central American sales continued to weigh on its overall results. The Wall Street Journal (tiered subscription model)/Dow Jones Newswires (06 Sep.)      Despite being a backbone enterprise application, Enterprise Resource Planning is often misunderstood. In this guide from Focus, top experts provide their suggestions and recommendations to guide you through your evaluation of the best choices. Unravel the complexities of ERP once and for all to make an informed buying decision by downloading this free white paper.   E-commerce Spotlight  India's online retailers ramp up service and cut costs Flipkart.com, Myntra.com and other online retailers in India are reducing their reliance on couriers by developing their own delivery networks as part of an effort to reduce expenses and enhance customer service. Flipkart.com has been expanding its home delivery service, which has helped the retailer realize an increase in repeat orders. LiveMint.com/The Wall Street Journal (India) (07 Sep.)      Online shopping gains fashion fans in UK Nearly half of all fashion shoppers in the UK prefer to purchase clothes and accessories online, a shift from past years when the ability to touch the clothing was a priority, according to a new study. Online retailers have installed features to give shoppers a better sense of what they're purchasing. The report also said that 64% of shoppers do online research into their fashion purchase. InternetRetailing.net (06 Sep.)        Spotlight on Luxury Goods  Indian consumers' appetite for luxury goods undiminished Demand for luxury goods, including everything from upscale cars to jewellery, continues to be strong in India even though consumers there have reduced consumption of other types of products. "In India, luxury products are flying off the shelves," said Narayana Ramaswamy, executive director at KPMG India. The Economic Times (India) (06 Sep.)        NRF News  Retail's BIG Show debuts best value package Get the best bang for your buck at NRF's 101st Annual Convention & EXPO, Jan. 15 to 18 in New York City, by registering for the best value package. New for the 2012 event, the best value package includes access to the opening night reception, Annual Retail Industry luncheon and EXPO as well as up to 60 hours of recorded educational sessions from the industry's top executives. 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