MoEngage Research Reveals North American Consumer Ecommerce Trends
Q1 Retail Reports Signal Consumer Behavior Changes
MoEngage Research Polls 2,000 North American Consumers
SMBs Magnify Their Online Presence With Multiple Storefronts for Maximum Exposure
Authenticity is now a key new driver of revenue and loyalty for global shoppers
Shopee Consumer Trends report reveals key digital habits among Singapore shoppers
Dads and Grads Gift Ideas
IPX launches the new original character IP ‘OOZ & mates’
Interior Design, Decor, Style Pitch: Luxury Pillow Collection Launched
Customer Experience Equally Important as Price for Today’s Modern Consumer
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Cheerful new Starbucks X LINE FRIENDS collection arrives for the holidays
LINE FRIENDS has partnered with Starbucks to unveil a new collaboration, which will take you on a happiness-filled holiday adventure with BROWN, CONY, and the entire BROWN & FRIENDS character lineup. The Starbucks® X LINE FRIENDS collaboration not only offers gift-worthy lifestyle accessories, but also a digital video featuring BROWN on LINE FRIENDS’ official Youtube and Instagram to inspire Millennials and Gen Z with the heartwarming message of “Yet still merry”. Starbucks® X LINE FRIENDS Youtube Shorts Key Visual Key illustration poster of Starbucks® X LINE FRIENDS Starbucks® X LINE FRIENDS Holiday Collection Starbucks® X LINE FRIENDS LINE Messenger Stickers The collaboration unfolds with a magical story of how BROWN encounters himself from the past at a Starbucks store, and gains heartwarming cheer and hope after reading a touching message from BROWN in the past. LINE FRIENDS hopes this special story can spread merry fun and happiness to fans of BROWN & FRIENDS and Starbucks, and people from all around the world to spend a joyous holiday. Using its unrivaled creative capabilities, LINE FRIENDS has also specially produced festive-themed LINE messenger stickers and Zoom virtual background, as part of the Starbucks® X LINE FRIENDS collaboration, to connect Millennials and Gen Z from all over the world with seasonal joy and holiday cheer. Also the limited-edition lifestyle essentials – including planners, tumblers, plush toys, tote bags and many more – is slated to drop for purchase at select Starbucks® stores across 12 regions in Asia Pacific on December 7.
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Unbox Real Happiness: Don't Let Counterfeit Goods Ruin Your Holidays
Counterfeit goods are a problem all year long, but demand for gifts, household products, virtual learning items, and even health products, mean that the holiday season is an especially busy time for crooks. Counterfeit products cost the global economy over $500 billion dollars a year. Ahead of the holiday shopping season, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, businesses, and law enforcement are raising awareness among consumers about the dangers of counterfeit goods and how to avoid falling for scams, and instead “unbox real happiness” This year, due to the global pandemic, supply chain crisis, and shifting shopping habits, millions of consumers are purchasing their holiday gifts and other necessities online. With the ease and convenience of direct-to-consumer purchasing, consumers must also remain vigilant to be sure they receive authentic products. Business can’t do it alone. That’s why business is also partnering with U.S. Customs and Border protection to raise awareness across the nation to educate Americans about the dangers of counterfeits. On November 19 in conjunction with YourUpdate TV, Frank Cullen, the Vice President of U.S. Policy, U.S. Chamber of Commerce Global Innovation Policy Center ; AnnMarie Highsmith, Executive Assistant Commissioner, U.S. Customs and Border Protection ; John Leonard, Deputy Executive Assistant Commissioner, U.S. Customs and Border Protection ; and Mary Beth Westmoreland, VP, Technology, Amazon ; all provided their insights for consumers during local TV interviews across the country. For more information about what you can do you can do to can do to shop smart this holiday season, make sure to visit www.USChamber.com/shopsmart
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IKEA Korea, reinforcing omni-channel shopping experience and sustainable business
Home furnishing retailer IKEA Korea announced last year’s major achievements and a new brand campaign, ‘Life at Home Movement (새삶스럽게)’, in celebration of FY22. IKEA Korea declared FY21 as the ‘Leap Year of Sustainability’ and made various efforts to encourage the many to practice sustainable living and contribute to a healthier planet and an inclusive society. Celebrating the FY 22 Leap Year of Life at Home, IKEA Korea will host a wide range of activities to promote a broader concept of home (my home, our community, our planet) and enable the many to create a happier and more meaningful daily life. In addition, IKEA Korea will provide various home furnishing products and solutions as well as smarter services at even lower prices by strengthening omni-channel solutions at all online and offline touchpoints. IKEA will also continue to invest in sustainability to achieve the IKEA goal for 2030: to become a climate positive business. IKEA Korea will introduce home furnishing products with great designs, high functionality, high quality, and sustainability at even more affordable prices so that the many can create their own unique and special spaces at home. Smarter and more convenient services will also be launched. Following the new parcel delivery service, which applies different prices (KRW 3,000 / KRW 5,000 / KRW 8,000) by volume and size, ’Neighbourhood Delivery Service’, which is available in nearby areas of an IKEA store at KRW 29,000, will be expanded to additional regions. In particular, to enhance the omni-channel tools and improve accessibility, IKEA Korea will launch a new pickup point service by the end of 2021, which will enable customers to pick up products outside of a IKEA store. Also, the ’Assembly Service' will be offered through a more reasonable cost calculation method, with the aim to lower the burden on customers, and kitchen and bathroom installation services will be provided nationwide as a complete solution in cooperation with various leading companies in the industry. IKEA will also continue sustainability efforts. The ‘Circular Hub’, a space designed to prolong the life of products and contribute to sustainability, will be expanded to all IKEA stores in Korea. IKEA will also unveil more sustainable foods, like the plant ball that has only 4% of the climate footprint of the classic IKEA meatball. In addition, to actively respond to climate change, IKEA will continue its efforts to improve energy efficiency and invest in renewable energy. “In FY 21, IKEA Korea recorded KRW 683.6 billion in sales (+3.4 percent YoY), had a total of 70 million visitors, expanded sustainable products to 36% of all products, and achieved 25% EV truck conversion for deliveries,” said Fredrik Johansson, Country Retail Manager at IKEA Korea. “In FY22, for the successful transformation of the omni-channel business, we will introduce an upgraded shopping experience and more affordable IKEA products and services while striving to inspire the many people to live a healthy and sustainable life.”
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75% of Consumers Want an Autonomous Shopping Experience According to Shekel-Sponsored Retail Shopping Survey
With less than 3% of consumers having already shopped at an autonomous store, 75% of consumers said they are interested in shopping at a newly-introduced autonomous store. This is according to the Retail Shopping survey targeting primary household decision makers conducted over SurveyMonkey and sponsored by Shekel Brainweigh Ltd Retail Innovation Division (ASX: SBW). The goal of the survey was to gain an understanding of how consumers perceive autonomous stores and autonomous store technologies. Nearly 80% of survey respondents were between the ages of 18-60 years old and more than 50% were female. Key findings of the survey include: Convenience and a frictionless experience was cited as the most important feature of an autonomous store by 33% of respondents with 25% saying variety and selection of goods was most important. Nearly 13% of respondents prefer a fully autonomous store while 70% prefer a hybrid store with autonomous and human assistance options. Lack of assistance (37%) and leaving the store without knowing the amount charged (19%) were cited as the top two concerns of autonomous stores by survey respondents. For nearly 65% of respondents, privacy was a heightened concern, and they prefer an anonymous/privacy-protected shopping experience. In terms of ideal providers for autonomous store solutions, 50% said the solution should be best-of-breed regardless of the provider and that credible retail solutions providers with innovative technology from the coolest startups are best. Udi Wiesner, General Manager of Shekel Brainweigh Retail Innovation Division said, “The results of our Retail Shopping survey demonstrate the need for retailers to quickly adopt autonomous store technologies and solutions to meet the major desires of consumers. And knowing that for nearly 50% of respondents COVID-19 has not impacted their shopping habits, there is a massive opportunity for retailers to improve their autonomous shopping strategies to provide superior shopping experiences with more store availability and a greater variety of products, while also keeping their customers’ privacy.” The Shekel Brainweigh Retail Innovation Division is capitalizing on the global demand for retail store automation to provide enhanced consumer shopping experiences and improve retailers’ efficiencies. Shekel has developed its game changing Product Aware Technology, which digitally transforms a retail shelf into a source of actionable insights. With its ability to identify a product by its weight, using IoT load sensors, embedded Smart Shelf software and cloud-based artificial intelligence algorithms, it provides ideal product recognition capabilities that enable store automation. At NAMA 2021, Shekel Brainweigh Retail Innovation Division and Hitachi Vantara will showcase the Automated Shop in Booth 2220, which enables retailers, vendors and operators to offer their customers a frictionless shopping experience in secure micro markets with a wide offering of fresh and healthy food at a lower cost of operation. The technology behind the shop includes Shekel’s Product Aware smart shelves and Hitachi 3D LiDAR with shopper insights and analytics displayed on the Hitachi Visualization Suite. This live experience will allow visitors to go through the shop as if it were their own customer journey. As part of the Automated Shop, the booth will also feature a hubz Smart Cooler, the world’s most advanced unattended retail Micro Market solution that allows retailers and vending operators to offer consumers fresh and healthy food selections in a 100% frictionless vending machine experience and a Smart Coffee Machine, courtesy of UST.
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LINE FRIENDS collaborates with Maison Kitsuné to globally debut the “MAISON KITSUNÉ X LINE FRIENDS” collection
LINE FRIENDS, a global creative studio, collaborated with Maison Kitsuné, a leading Paris-meets-Tokyo lifestyle brand, to globally debut the limited-edition MAISON KITSUNÉ X LINE FRIENDS collection on July 8th in countries including France, the U.S., Korea and Japan. “Maison” is the French word for "house" and "Kitsuné" is the Japanese word for "fox”. Inspired by the fox, a symbol of versatility, Kitsuné offers a unique, inspirational Art de Vivre, blending a fashion brand (Maison Kitsuné), music label (Kitsuné Musique) and cafés, roasteries, bars and restaurants (Café Kitsuné), and has continued to influence the culture of Millennials and Generation Z across the globe. Featuring its signature Fox logo, the Paris-meets-Tokyo lifestyle brand has captured the hearts of the younger generations and fashion people for its exquisite interpretation of the “French Ivy”, a perfect balance of casual comfort and timeless sophistication. With its unrivaled creative design capabilities, LINE FRIENDS has reinterpreted the brand essence of Maison Kitsuné’s Parisian lifestyle for this newest collection, which encompasses 62 types of clothing including sweatshirts and patterned T-shirts, and 11 types of accessories including phone cases, AirPods cases, tote bags, plush toys and stationery essentials. The collection items are embedded with adorable images visualizing the story of how BROWN, travelling around the world, coincidentally meets KITSUNÉ at a record shop in Paris and listens to music together, and ultimately becomes friends. Through this collaboration, KITSUNÉ, the signature Fox logo, is reimagined into a more adorable and animated character by meeting BROWN, who is usually reserved and laid-back but a reliable friend – bringing global fans of both LINE FRIENDS and Maison Kitsuné more fun and excitement. MAISON KITSUNÉ X LINE FRIENDS collaboration is an epic one because of the similarities in the two brands’ DNA – LINE FRIENDS, originally created for use as stickers for leading mobile messenger app LINE, has expanded into game, fashion, and entertainment sectors and now leads the global character IP industry, while Kitsuné, a music and fashion label-turned- leading lifestyle brand, has also broadened its business into F&B sectors. The unique backstories of the two brands are anticipated to spark viral sensation among global Millennials and Generation Z. Launched as part of the 10th anniversary of BROWN & FRIENDS, the MAISON KITSUNÉ X LINE FRIENDS collection will be available for purchase on the official on- and offline stores of LINE FRIENDS and Maison Kitsuné from July 8th. LINE FRIENDS will also be dropping digital contents including MAISON KITSUNÉ X LINE FRIENDS collaborative videos with Maison Kitsuné x LINE FRIENDS playlist curated by Kitsuné Musique embedded in the background, as well as LINE stickers, and Instagram GIFs of the story on how BROWN meets KITSUNÉ. The collaborative videos can be found on LINE FRIENDS’ official Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/linefriends/). Meanwhile, LINE FRIENDS has been winning the hearts of Millennials and Generation Z worldwide by collaborating with a number of renowned fashion and tech brands, including Bang & Olufsen, Converse, LAMY, and Leica, to bring value to everyday life with trendy yet quality products.
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OhuhuART Celebrates 5th Anniversary with Its Hallmark Anniversary Sales Event
OhuhuArt celebrates 5 years of inspiring young artists and art aficionados with a 20% sale on their well-loved alcohol markers. From a young brand inspired by the picturesque nature of Oahu, Hawaii, OhuhuART has since made its name for itself to be a go-to art supplies brand amongst the community. They do so by keeping the price points modest enough for the average student to afford to pursue art without breaking the bank, without sacrificing on quality. With a slogan to “paint up your inspiration”, Ohuhu marks its 5th birthday with a limited-time sale for their best-selling markers on both Amazon and their website: www.ohuhu.com. Celebrating half a decade of creative pursuits OhuhuART’s origin story starts off with the launch of their humble but mighty marker set back in 2016. Since then, OhuhuART has since clinched its Amazon best-selling title by expanding its product categories according to the community’s feedback. One such product category that was developed based on the voices of the community was the Ohuhu Skin Tone Markers. Just a decade ago, skin tone colors were only limited to a certain shade of beige. But fast forward to today, a single color could not represent the beauty of diversity. And after our community shared that sentiment with us, we set out to develop 2 versions of Ohuhu Skin Tone Markers. Today, we are proud to share that the Honolulu Series of Ohuhu Skin Tone Markers boasts 36 beautiful shades, and OhuhuArt will continue to work on adding more shades to promote inclusivity. A promise to always keep prices wallet-friendly “As a student, spending my month’s allowance on quality paints was honestly out of the question for me. So, I was always stuck with lower-quality products that did not allow me to enjoy art as much as I should have. But I’m thankful that I found Ohuhu since it is not as expensive as high-tier brands and the quality is comparably good.” – says Kelsey Watts, high school student. OhuhuART aims to equip students like Kelsey with the highest-quality products. To do so, the art brand is kicking this off a conceited effort to move away from third-party ecommerce sites and to focus more on their website so that they can offer more perks and privileges to the community directly, as well as reduce costs to keep their products affordable. Whether you are stocking up on your favorite OhuhuART supplies, or new to the brand for the first time, check out the brand’s 20% off marker sale here: https://www.ohuhu.com/ohuhu-markers-5-year-anniversary
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Kaohsiung Goods: An Online Shopping Experience Like No Others, Discover the Best Local Brands All In One Place
Kaohsiung Goods provides an exclusive online shopping experience that focuses on promoting Kaohsiung's featured products and high-quality designer brands. The company will be showcasing its new shopping platform at 2021 Taipei International Travel Fair between Nov 5 - Nov 8. As the largest and busiest harbour in Taiwan, Kaohsiung not only serves as an industrial hub, but a cultural centre full of possibilities. Named after the city, KG shopping website platform conveys the inseparable bond between the brand and the city. Unlike general shopping sites, KG is well known for its distinctive local goods from foods and beverages to makeups and sanitizers, all strictly selected by the Kaohsiung Economic Development Bureau and Kaohsiung Goods Company. With a diversity of choices in high quality brands, tourists can enjoy Joymay’s freshly made pineapple cakes and JeanFu’s invigorating seafood jerkys, while locals can refill their cups with Leaffree Jasmine Wooling’s crisp freshness. Following the vibrant spirit of Kaohsiung, KG dedicates to the continual discoveries of amazing goods and stories of the city and shares with the world an unique piece of Taiwan, where people can sneak peek the latest updates through official websites, physical stores, live broadcasts, and exhibitions. Competitive Advantages: • Free e-commerce business course support for vendors • Special business consultancy for vendors • Channel expansion and planning services for vendors
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Celebrate Lunar New Year with iShopChangi’s Exclusive Discounts and Promotions
With Lunar New Year just around the corner, iShopChangi is getting into the spirit of things with our Fresh New Year campaign offering sitewide discounts and promotions. Featuring over 6,500 products at up to 58% off, this is your chance to stock up on your favourite buys or festive gifts before ringing in the Year of the Ox. With these special discounts lasting until February 14, 2021, don't miss out on some of the best prices of the year. - Unbeatable Sitewide Discount Codes Although the holiday season has been in full flow for weeks now, iShopChangi's unbeatable savings & best deals aren't slowing down anytime soon. In fact, our Fresh New Year promotion is stepping things up with all-day sitewide discounts. Simply spend a minimum of S$108, S$268 or S$588 and apply the codes CNY8, CNY28 or CNY68 to save S$8, S$28 or S$68 at checkout. As an extra incentive, if you make any purchase with iShopChangi's CNY promo codes, we're offering you the chance? to redeem an exclusive set of six tokidoki angbao (*while stocks last) -. With these specially decorated red envelopes arriving just in time for Lunar New Year, enter the promo code ISCHUAT to secure your set. - Incredible Weekday CNY Flash Drops In celebration of the festivities, we're offering themed flash deals on every weekday. With each drop taking place every morning at 11am, you won't find these specials anywhere else. Starting the week off in style, Monday sees us give the first 50 customers flash promo codes to use in our Beauty category. Tuesday also requires customers to be ready and waiting, as we give the first 50 customers who comment and tag a friend on our social media profiles with S$8 vouchers in the Social Giveaway category. Plus, one special winner will receive a cash prize of S$888 at the end of the campaign. Wednesday is when we drop another 50 awesome promo codes for use in our Wine & Spirits category, featuring brands such as GLENFIDDICH, PENFOLDS, JACK DANIEL'S and CHOYA, while Thursday sees us offer over 20% off our exclusive CNY Bundle Deals. Finally, we round out the week with a bang as iShopChangi takes more than 20% off our LoveSG Bundles, which feature a curated selection of local brands and products in the Support Local category.
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Harbour City’s Limited Edition “Sweet Blessings” Red Packets & Mini Handbags
To celebrate Chinese New Year and give everyone “Sweet Blessings”, Harbour City has specially designed the Limited Edition “Candy Box” Red Packets & Mini “Puffer” Handbags. In Chinese tradition, “Candy Box” full of sweets and snacks, represents endless blessings and prosperity, with which we wish everyone’s year ahead be bright, fresh and filled with sweet surprises. This year, Harbour City has once again joined hands with design unit Communion W, to launch 6 different double-sided “Candy Box” Red Packets in a series of pastel colours. The design of the “Candy Boxes” is inspired by butterflies, seas of clouds, bamboos as well as Chinese windows and knotting. All the red packets are embossed and hot stamped for a rich, vivid texture, adding elegance to these playful, yet traditional designs. All “Candy Boxes” are abundant in candies, chocolate gold coins, and traditional CNY snacks, such as sweetened dried lotus roots and sesame doughnuts. Each set of red packet contains a total of 18 “Candy Boxes”, including 6 large ones and 12 small ones, with sweet blessing written on them, wishing receivers the best of luck in the Year of the Rat. Catching up with the fashion trend of puffer handbags, Harbour City has also designed a mini “puffer” handbag of 2 colours in purple and green, to bring warmth to all in the Chinese New Year. Vibrant and functional, the handbags are suitable for all occasions. [Redemption Details of “Sweet Blessings” Red Packets & Mini Handbags] From Jan 13 to Jan 24, 2020, upon spending of HK$2,000 or more by designated digital payment at any Harbour City outlets (maximum at two different outlets) and showing the corresponding computer-printed receipts and electronic payment slips, customers can: 1) Donate HK$60 to Hong Kong Blood Cancer Foundation to redeem ONE set of Limited Edition Red Packets (18 pieces, 6 large ones and 12 small ones). 2) Donate HK$150 to Hong Kong Blood Cancer Foundation to redeem ONE set of Limited Edition Red Packets and ONE Mini Handbag. *Maximum TWO sets of gifts can be redeemed per person per time, while stock lasts.
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Introduction and Features of IKEA Giheung Store in Pictures
▲ IKEA Giheung store, which is scheduled to open on the 12th ▲ Flow chart of IKEA Giheung store On December 12th, Home furnishing retail company IKEA Korea will officially open its third domestic store, IKEA Giheung Store, after Gwangmyeong and Goyang stores. IKEA Giheung store is located at 41-7 Gomae-dong, Giheung-gu, Yongin-si, Gyeonggi-do, Gyeonggi-do, Korea, and composed of two basement floors and three ground floors. Its total floor area is 49,808.77m² and operates from 10am to 10pm daily, the same as the existing IKEA Gwangmyeong and Goyang stores. IKEA Giheung store focuses on the convenience of the customer shopping experience as the first store to be introduced after the multi-channel switching that enables online and offline shopping at the same time. In particular, various digital solutions and experience spaces will be introduced throughout the store, so it is expected that visitors will have a more fun and different home furnishing experience. After IKEA Korea visited more than 100 families to identify the needs of local customers, what they want to improve, and their dream spaces, the main target group of IKEA Giheung store has been decided to be a home with young children, which has a high will to improve storages. Therefore, the store focuses not only on organizing and storing solutions, but also on providing home furnishing inspiration and ideas for more efficient use of space. At the same time, 'Home Furnishing Coach', which specializes in home furnishing, will provide a variety of home furnishing know-hows and solutions that can be easily started by anyone throughout the store. ▲ At the entrance of the store, there is a Smallland play area for children and various digital activities. ▲ The IKEA Giheung store offers 'Kids Cart' for the first time for children to enjoy shopping. ▲ There are about 50 showrooms on the first floor, and these showrooms are organized in various themes to reflect the home furnishing needs of local residents. ▲ Customers can check what furniture is placed through the digital solution, which is first introduced at IKEA Giheung. ▲ Another example of digital solutions: Like a cat using a shelf, customers can see how the furniture can be used through the projector. ▲ Each area has a planning hub where you can consult and discuss furniture layout from one to ten. ▲ Customers can also paint their favorite colors on the furniture through the projector. ▲ By reflecting the needs of local residents, the first basement floor of IKEA Giheung store begins with the 'Home Organization' section. ▲ There is also a 'Smart Lighting' service where customers can choose the brightness and design of the lights. ▲ The 'Self Serve Area' of IKEA Giheung store: All the furniture you've noticed in the showroom on the first floor can be found in the this area.
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Suning launches new Biu products at CE China 2019
Guangzhou/Berlin, 19. September 2019 – Premiere at CE China: The Chinese retail giant Suning, strategic partner of CE China, has seized the opportunity to present eight new products of its Biu product line for smart home appliances at the CE China in Guangzhou. On this occasion, fans of Biu were invited to the first ever Biu fan festival to attend the launch. Behind closed curtains, selected Biu-fans were the first to learn about the premieres of intelligent smart home products at the booth of Suning on the trade show. Among others, Suning presented the new Biu air conditioner as a “pro version”, the "Little Dolphin" electric water heater and the "Little Seashells" gas water heater. Suning representatives also showed, how the different devices connect with each other. According to Suning, Biu will continue to focus on smart products, smart home solutions, and services in order to bring users a full range of smart solutions. The company further announced to launch a large capacity multi-door Biu refrigerator and a Biu washing machine in October. Jens Heithecker, IFA Executive Director and CE China Chairman, said: “Suning’s Biu product premieres here at CE China are a great honour and an example of how to get large attention to innovative concepts. Besides, it is yet another proof that we have chosen the right place and date for our show.”
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Retail Giant and CE China Partner Suning to Showcase Biu+ Smarthome Solution at CE China
Guangzhou/Berlin, 3. September 2019 - CE China, a global IFA event, is focusing on the retail landscape in an efficient and effective way. A major contribution in this regard comes from Chinese retail giant and long-time CE China premium partner Suning. In Guangzhou at the show, the omni-channel retailer is going to present itself as partner of the IFA Retail University and showcases its latest smart home innovation Biu+ Ecology. Biu+ Ecology coming back with new break-throughs When Suning first stepped into smart home appliance, it created a series of smart products with the name “Biu”. Till now, the Biu+ Ecology contains dozens of products and links over 110 different brands in its “biu!” app. Last year, Suning brought its newly launched unmanned “Biu” store to CE China. This time, the retailer is going to showcase its whole smart home package with “Biu” home appliance, including refrigerators, air-conditioners and water purifiers. IFA Retail University delivers deep market insights Co-initiated by Suning and IFA, IFA Retail University developed into a major attraction at CE China, providing visitors with deep insights into markets and products. Lectures will be held by CE China exhibitors in short 20-minute "Power-Briefings" - allowing them to share their latest strategies, products, and visions to international retailers and media. In addition, latest market trends and insights will be presented. During the last CE China, more than 400 retail partners, buyers and store managers attended the IFA Retail University. This year CE China welcomes gfk, Haier, NUC Kuvings, Sennheiser and Severin among others.
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Amazon Global Selling 2017 Press Conference
On September 28th, ‘Amazon Global Selling 2017 Press Conference’ was held at COEX Convention Center in Seoul. The event was prepared to introduce main issues to domestic media officials ahead of the selling conference held on the afternoon. Today, everyone from domestic conglomerates to start-ups has been able to sell products to more than 300 million buyers in 185 countries through Amazon, without local logistics centers, customer support centers and local language support services. For the first time in Korea, Amazon hosted a 'Global Selling Conference' with more than 1,000 entrants, government officials, and compnies which hope to enter attending, and introduced various support programs and services for domestic companies wishing to enter overseas markets. ▲ Park Jun-mo, CEO of Amazon Global Selling Park Jun-mo, CEO of Amazon Global Selling, said, “Online sales are very active in Korea, but overseas sales are still in the early stages. For domestic sellers who have a lot of online experience, overseas online sales will be a great opportunity, and it is so rewarding that Amazon Global Selling can support it.” Also, “During the peak season of the year, including Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Christmas shopping season, Amazon Global Selling will actively support domestic companies to maximize sales abroad.” Amazon operates online marketplaces in 11 countries around the world, giving sellers the opportunity to sell products to more than 300 million customers in 185 countries. The Amazon Global Selling site is supporting domestic sellers to concentrate on selling products without worrying about complicated business issues such as local logistics centers, shipping services, customer services such as returns and refunds, as well as securing sales channels. Amazon allows sellers to use the 150 million square foot Amazon logistics center through Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA), a differentiated one-stop order processing service, and deals with all the processes that occur after customer orders. In other words, since Amazon takes care of customer service such as screening, packing, shipping, customer inquiry and return, sellers in Korea only need to go online and manage order processing. Therefore, they can provide products to the customers more simply and quickly. In addition, Amazon supports local sellers to expand their global business and strengthen their customer base by operating a dedicated team for domestic sellers, launching a Korean service for Seller Central, which is a sellers’ portal, and offering a Korean seller education program. ▲ If you give the product inventory to the Amazon Logistics Center, then Amazon will take care of everything. ▲ Korean support that has been pointed out is now officially launched. ▲ It is declared that priority investment will be implemented in the seller training program with the aim of spreading the whole ecosystem. A headquater of Kolon Industries Future Business, a fashion brand entered the Amazon in 2015, said, "Through our steady business development with Amazon, we are actively communicating with the global millennial generation, which is our new customer base, and spreading the brand’s unique value to domestic and foreign customers.” Kolon Industries FnC has been steadily increasing its sales growth in the Amazon with 'Regna X', which was developed as an exclusive online brand. Ryu Jong-yoon, CEO of White Stone Co., Ltd., which is a company specializing in tempered glass for protecting smart devices and entered the Amazon in April, 2017, said, “Since introducing products to the global market through Amazon, the company has been recognized for its excellent quality both at home and abroad. By intensifying our sales and marketing activities targeting consumers in overseas markets that have not been able to advane directly due to time and geographical constraints in the meantime, we will firmly strengthen our position as a leading company in the global screen protector market.” White Stone has been showing the remarkable advance in the mobile phone accessories category since entering the Amazon. Based on the official activities, Amazon Global Selling announced that it will continue to introduce various support programs for domestic sellers to advance overseas. It also promised to strengthen the Korean language service as well as the education program that helps bring new functions and services directly to actual sales. It also opens up opportunities for the use of ‘Referral Fee' by category, and offers a wide selection to domestic sellers who are actively seeking to promote global markets.
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IKEA Korea ‘Express yourself, Making Living Room as I Want’ Campaign Announcement
On the morning of August 29th, IKEA Korea held an announcement to present the new strategy 'Express yourself, making living room as I want' in Bread Comma, Yeonnam-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul. This event was attended by representatives including IKEA Korea CEO Andre Schmidtgall, Nicolas Johnsson Marketing Manager, and Choi Yun-ha Marketing Assistant Manager. Through this meeting, IKEA Korea introduced a new strategy to focus on this year, 'Express yourself, making living room as I want'. Regarding this year's theme, "living room," IKEA Korea will continue to offer home furnishing ideas and solutions that will not only utilize the space but also love the home depending on new strategies. André Schmidtgall, CEO of IKEA Korea, explained about the result of the 2017 fiscal year (from September 2016 to August 2017), "The sales were KRW 365 billion, which is up 6% from the last year, and IKEA Family member subscribers exceeded 1.2 million." He also said, "In particular, IKEA Goyang, which is scheduled to open on October 19th, is expected to attract more people to get inspiration of IKEA's various home furnishings." ▲ André Schmidtgall, CEO of IKEA Korea ▲ IKEA Goyang, scheduled to open on October 19th IKEA Korea will open IKEA Goyang store on October 19th. It is located in Wonheung district, Deokyang-gu, Goyang-si, Gyeonggi-do. It has a total floor area of 164,000m^2, 3 basement floors and 4 ground floors. Prior to opening the Goyang store, IKEA Korea said it is trying to get closer to Goyang citizens through activities such as placing fire hydrants to existing traditional markets in Goyang city. In addition, 550 workers will be employed through the "IKEA Goyang Job Fair", and about 2,500 people had applied for the job fair. Nicolas Johnsson, IKEA Korea Marketing Manager, explained the new strategy of IKEA Korea's 'Express yourself, making living room as I want', "Through this strategy, I hope that Korean consumers will be able to look back the meaning of 'living room' and reconstruct it as a space to show off their individual taste and personality." ▲ Nicolas Johnsson, IKEA Korea Marketing Manager ▲ Choi Yun-ha, IKEA Korea Marketing Assistant Manager, explained about "Hej Geosil" pop-up exhibition. The 'Express yourself, making living room as I want' strategy redefines 'living room', which is the everyday space. IKEA Korea focused on the point that living room is a space where the family is gathered together for the most time and is recognized as the most preferred space at home, while most lives in a living room are similar due to limitations of experience, time, cost and space, and the satisfaction level was low. IKEA Korea will provide a variety of home furnishing ideas and solutions to help Korean consumers freely express themselves in the living room and make it a place to enjoy everyday life. Meanwhile, as part of the new campaign, from August 30 to September 17, IKEA Korea will hold a 'Hej Geosil' pop-up exhibition space at Bread Comma, Yeonnam-dong. In 'Hej Geosil', you can find four themed showrooms, new products, and catalogs for 2018 that IKEA suggests. In addition, it is introduced that the possibility of free self-expression and space utilization will be delivered through a new 'Brandrama', which will be released from 29th through TV, Internet, SNS, etc.
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Philip Morris IQOS Korea Press Conference
On the morning of May 17th, Philip Morris Korea held the press conference at Banyan Tree Club & Spa Seoul in Jung-gu, Seoul. Before the launch of IQOS, which is a smokeless heated-cigarette, the conference was prepared to introduce the features of the product, in the presence of the officials such as Chong Il-woo and Kim Byeong-cheol, CEO and executive director of Philip Morris Korea, and Dr. Moira Gilchrist from Philip Morris International (PMI) R&D. Chong Il-woo, CEO of Philip Morris Korea, said, "PMI is creating the future that will be brought by smokeless cigarette products, and we think it is a better option than smoking regular cigarettes." And, "The newly launched IQOS is meaningful for domestic adult smokers to join in this future, and we expect many adult smokers to choose IQOS." ▲ Philip Morris IQOS Korea press conference was held. ▲ Chong Il-woo said, "The future that will be brought by smokeless cigarette products is a better option than smoking regular cigarettes." According to the announcement, Philip Morris Korea will release IQOS, a heated-cigarette product, on June 5th. Through this formal launch, Korea will become a major Asian market selling IQOS, following Japan. IQOS is an electronic device that heats without burning 'Heets', a special cigarette product that uses a solid material made of tobacco leaves, so it does not create smoke or ashes and pollute indoor air. Also, it produces nicotine-containing vapors that smell much less than cigarette smoke. 'Heets' used for IQOS is made of a solid material with the actual tobacco leaves so that it provides the unique taste and satisfaction of the tobacco leaves. Heets can be only used with a IQOS device, and unlike regular cigarettes, it is designed to be unusable with fire. Since 2008, PMI has invested more than KRW 3.4 trillion (about US $ 3 billion) in the research and development of non-burning cigarette products including IQOS, and more than 430 R&D experts are involved in the research and development. PMI has been conducting scientific and systematic research for the first time based on R&D methods widely recognized in the pharmaceutical industry. This research comes to 'Modified Risk Tobacco Product (MRTP)' standard of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). ▲ Philip Morris Korea will release 'IQOS' in Korea on June 5th. ▲ 'IQOS' uses 'Heets', a solid material made of tobacco leaves. PMI is opening all of its research methods and results for independent investigation and verification about the related studies. According to the study conducted so far, it is claimed that the vapor from IQOS contains an average of 90% less harmful or potentially harmful substances determined by international organizations than the regular cigarette smoke. Dr. Moira Gilchrist said, "The vapor of IQOS is 90% less harmful or potentially harmful than smoke generated from 3R4F reference cigarette. Also, it is significantly less toxic than the regular cigarette smoke while delivering nicotine. In two clinical researches for a week and two clinical researches for three months, the exposure to 15 hazardous substances has been significantly reduced in adult smokers who were fully switched to IQOS." He also introduced by saying, "These figures are similar to those observed for people who stopped smoking during the study period. IQOS does not pollute the indoor air and does not cause smoke, which is the cause of secondhand smoke." Next, he emphasized by saying, "It is not to say that IQOS is not dangerous or harmless at all, but it may be a better choice for adult smokers who want to continue smoking." ▲ Dr. Moira Gilchrist presented the result of the related research. ▲ It is introduced that, compared to the regular cigarette, the vapor of IQOS has 90% less harmful or potentially harmful substances. Philip Morris Korea will be officially releasing IQOS and Heets from June 5th at the stores for IQOS, CU convenience stores across Seoul, and some electro-mart stores. From May 27th, it is planned to pre-sell IQOS devices and Heets in limited quantities at the IQOS store located in Gwanghwamun and Garosugil, Seoul. The recommended consumer price for IQOS, which is an electronic device, is 120,000 won. However, if you sign up for an official website that requires an adult certification, watch the product description video, obtain a special purchase code, and show the code to the IQOS store, you can purchase it at 97,000 won. The price of 'Heets', a specially made tobacco product for 'IQOS', is 20 pcs at 4,300 won per pack. Until now, IQOS has been launched in 25 countries including the UK, Germany, Italy and Switzerland, and more than 2 million smokers have switched to IQOS. In Japan, it was released nationwide in September 2015, and the Japanese market share of IQOS cigarette products reached 8.8% in mid-April. Meanwhile, PMI will present IQOS to about 30 countries until the end of 2017.
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