Prada opened its first store in Vietnam, in the heart of Hoan Kiem, Hanoi’s prestigious shopping district. >>
2 – VN retailers face pressure as foreign firms enter the market
Vietnamese businesses are seeing significant pressure after the Government started allowing foreign investors to open wholly-owned retail companies in January. >>
3 – A new way for brands to boost sales with social media
A new study by Networked Insights, which monitors social conversations across networks including Twitter, YouTube and Reddit, found there’s a correlation between the way consumers talk about certain brand metrics, and a retailer’s same-store sales. >>
Fig. Classification of assessment location explanatory variables
Previously we have talked about what elements to look at when evaluating a retail site in a macro perspective. (Click to read more) Now we will formulate a location strategy of prospective sites into micro analysis.
Micro Problem
Micro problem is the other main component of assessing a site location. Retailers have always understood location as paramount, but understanding all aspects of store performance, site potential in addition to consumer behavior demands a great amount of information. This involves an understanding of the geographical, demographic, socioeconomic, and competition data in the area. The figure above suggests a possible classification of assessment location explanatory variables. In opposition to trade zone evaluation (demand and competition), the site and store variables intend to evaluate internal factors or the new store offerings.
The retail sector is going through a restructuring phase, driven by factors such as increasing consumer mobility, increasing electronic commerce, changing household size, concentration of market power, market saturation, and changes in planning legislation. These changes require retail groups to invest strongly in stores of smaller dimension while focusing on a strategy that prioritizes proximity to the target customer and quality of goods and services. This investment has a long – run as well as smaller economies of scale, which forces careful decision-making.
1 – Report Uncovers 2015 Global Digital Banking Trends
The top ten digital trends covered in the Digital Banking Report (in no particular order) include: Increased Use of Customer Analytics, Expedited Deployment of Digital Delivery, Focus on Mobile-First Design. >>
2 – JPMorgan to Cut Costs, Charge for Some Deposits
JPMorgan projected nearly US$5 billion in lower expenses through 2017 with cuts in its corporate and investment banking, and consumer and community banking, segments. >>
3 - China Rapid Finance Pre-Approves 50 Million Chinese Consumers for First-Time Loans
China Rapid Finance (“CRF”), a leader in Chinese marketplace lending and credit decisioning, today announced that it has extended pre-approved loan offers of 500 RMB (~US$80) to 50 million consumers including pre-screened users on QQ, Tencent’s leading social networking platform, with 820 million users, and customers of China Union Pay, China’s leading payment network. >>
1 – Pan-African Banks Expansion Could Boost Systemic Risks
A recent report noted that pan-African banks have a systemic presence in around 36 countries and are now more important than the continent’s long-established European and American banks. >>
2 – Bill Gates predicts leap in mobile banking in Africa by 2030
The Co-Chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Mr Bill Gates, has predicted that by 2030, 80 per cent of African adults without accounts would be banking with their mobile phones. >>
3 - Top Indonesia Banks Are Strong Without Needing to Merge: BNI
Indonesia’s biggest banks, among the world’s most profitable, are strong enough to face down overseas rivals without the need to merge with Southeast Asia’s economic integration. >>
1 – Aeon plans big expansion of MaxValu supermarkets
Aeon (Thailand) Co, the operator of MaxValu supermarkets, has announced plans to speed up expansion in Thailand by increasing its number of stores to 500 by 2020. >>
2 – Wendy’s to sell 500 more stores to franchisees in 2015
In pursuit of its goal to reduce company-operated restaurant ownership to approximately 5 percent of the total system by the middle of 2016, Wendy’s recently announced that it is planning to sell 500 additional restaurants to franchisees this year. >>
3 – Mothercare enters Korea
Babywear retailer Mothercare is to launch in South Korea.The UK-based company has entered into a franchise agreement with Homeplus, a local supermarket chain owned by Tesco, to open retail stores and an eCommerce site. >>
