Interview with Zafka Zhang
Danwei
  Nov. 17, 2008 (Danwei delivered by Newstex) -- Zafka Zhang (from 56minus1 on Flickr) This interview is re-published on Danwei from 56minus1. Zafka Zhang (? ????) is the co-founder of China Youthology, a boutique consultancy that works on consumer insights for marketing, communications, and product design targeting Chinese youth. He is also the head of research at HiPiHi (a leading Chinese virtual world platform), a lead adviser for the Association of Virtual Worlds (global industry association), a project member with Creative Commons in China, and a bona fide expert on Chinese subcultures, music, art, and digital marketing. 56minus1:
Editor's Comments:CONSUMER INSIGHTS/CONSUMER ELECTRONICS/CHINA

Retailers gear up for hard times; Smaller players offering mid- to high-priced items may be worst hit
The Straits Times (Singapore)
 A SHAKE-UP in the retail industry is looming as worries over the economic outlook threaten to crimp spending. Industry players are worried that the impact of the current downturn will be worse than that during the Sars outbreak in 2003, or the Asian financial crisis a decade ago. Speaking on the sidelines of the Singapore Retailers Association's (SRA) glittering annual ball last night, several said they expect smaller retailers who offer mid- to high-priced items, such as gourmet food or high-street fashion, to be hardest hit.

Editor's Comments:ASIA

For consumer companies, the good times haven?t ended?yet
MINT
 What slowdown? It?s a fair question to ask based on results for the consumer-product sector in the quarter ended 30 September. Unlike the companies in the benchmark Sensex and Nifty, which saw their worst performance in more than two years, the makers of items such as soap, snacks, colas, toothpaste and even durables such as televisions and washing machines recorded one of their most spectacular periods. The country?s largest consumer products company by turnover, Hindustan Unilever Ltd, or HUL, reported net profit growth of 34% at Rs546.61 crore, compared with Rs408.06 crore in the corresponding quarter a year ago. Sales grew 20% to Rs4,027.87 crore. That came on the heels of results posted by the company in the previous quarter ended 30 June, being the best in the past two years (eight quarters). The results stand in contrast to anecdotal evidence and fears of a crisis in retail demand. Of course, the effects of more recent news?from hiring freezes to a downward spiralling stock mar...

Editor's Comments:FMCG/INDIA

Henkel to expand Renuzit brand of room sprays
Datamonitor NewsWire
 The company plans to expand its retail presence in the air freshener market. Before venturing into further diversification of the air freshener portfolio, the company intends to first consolidate its existing range. Debashis Das, Henkel India's category manager of laundry and homecare division, said: "We started marketing Renuzit in India with room sprays and sold them exclusively in the modern trade channel but are now entering the growing car freshener and continuous air freshener market with innovative consumer offerings. "We are looking at garnering 20% shares in modern trade stores over the next couple of years."
Editor's Comments:INDIA/CATMAN COMMENTS/HOUSEHOLD

Retailer checks in at airport
South China Morning Post
  Sourcing for one of the biggest retail outfits at the Hong Kong International Airport is no easy feat. The sourcing team at Nuance-Watson (HK) knows first hand the importance of getting the right products, at the right time for travelling customers to fill about 5,500 square metres of retail space (which is set to expand by another 500 square metres after the new Terminal One East Hall expansion).  It all boils down to sourcing products that customers want and having a well-oiled merchandising engine to power operations.
Editor's Comments:CHINA/TRAVEL RETAIL

Footfalls aren't falling
Business Today
 Last fortnight, Noel Tata, Managing Director, Trent Ltd, flagged off its 4th hypermarket format, a Star Bazaar flagship store, in suburban Mumbai. This is the second such store in Mumbai. Spread over 75,000 sq. ft, the store will stock everything from essentials to niche items like exotic cuisines at an international food section, a live bakery and a deli section. The Tata company's Star Bazaar is, doubtless, yet another gleaming temple of modern-day India. Yet, at a time when inflation is raging and consumer sentiment isn't at its zenith, the timing of the launch could be questioned. Tata, for his part, doesn't see any cause for shilly-shallying. It is not risky to open a store in this category of products and in a format that is really trying to bring value to the customer. Our aim is to give the customer the best quality at the lowest possible price and, therefore, it's possibly the best time for us when the customers are also looking for the best deals on offer, Tata told BT at th...
Editor's Comments:SHOPPER INSIGHTS/INDIA

INCOMM TECHNOLOGY DRIVES ITUNES CARD SALES AT JAPAN'S SEIYU GROUP
Asia Pulse
 MEDIA RELEASE PR30942 InComm Technology Drives iTunes Card Sales at Japan's Seiyu Group TOKYO, July 1 /PRNewswire-AsiaNet/ -- Beginning today, Seiyu shoppers can purchase a range of iTunes Cards at all 392 retail locations throughout Japan through the latest in-store technology powered by InComm's Fastcard (R) point-of-sale activation (POS) technology. iTunes Cards are available in denominations of 1,500 yen, 3,000 yen and 5,000 yen, and can be redeemed on the iTunes Store (http://apple.com/jp/itunes/store/) to purchase and download the latest hits and best catalog music for all genres and other digital content, including music videos, audiobooks and games. Rolling out with iTunes Cards, Seiyu will expand the offering at all retail locations offering a wide-variety of gift card selections over the next years.
Editor's Comments: GIFT CARDS/JAPAN

Rationalism Trumps Nationalism When Chinese Consumers Choose a Brand; A New BCG Study Finds That Chinese Consumers Are More Practical Than Patriotic When It Comes to Choosing Between Foreign and Local Brands; And Thanks to Strategies That Companies Have Borrowed From Chameleons and Hermit Crabs, Some Foreign Brands Do a Good Job of Appearing to Be Local
Market Wire
  As the competition between multinational and local brands in China intensifies during the months leading up to the Olympic Games and after, some brand analysts have concluded that Chinese consumers will increasingly favor local brands, largely for reasons of national allegiance. Although the Chinese often claim to prefer local brands -- and patriotism is undoubtedly a factor in that preference -- nationalism plays a relatively small role in actual purchases, according to "Foreign or Local Brands in China? Rationalism Trumps Nationalism," a new report from The Boston Consulting Group (BCG). Brand choice in China is, in fact, much more complex. What might appear to be a nationalistic preference for local brands is actually a preference for reasonably priced products with reliable quality.
Editor's Comments:CONSUMER INSIGHTS/CHINA/BRAND AWARENESS

Young Chinese Have a Higher Savings Rate and Many Want a New Car, According to BIGresearch's Q2 China Quarterly Survey; High Consumer Confidence Helps Drive Planned Purchases
Market Wire
  On average, Chinese consumers age 18 to 34 save 14% of their annual income, almost doubling that of Americans the same age (9%). Positive economic growth plus high consumer savings rates is a formula for strong consumer confidence among young Chinese consumers. 65% say they are confident/very confident in the economy (compared to 21.8% of young Americans who say the same), according to BIGresearch's (http://www.bigresearch.com) latest China Quarterly Survey of over 4,000 young Chinese consumers between the ages of 18 and 34.
Editor's Comments:CONSUMER INSIGHTS/CHINA

SYMRISE OPENS NEW CREATIVE CENTER IN SHANGHAI, CHINA
Asia Pulse
 MEDIA RELEASE PR30538 Symrise Opens New Creative Center in Shanghai, China HOLZMINDEN, June 4/ PRNewswire-AsiaNet/ -- - An Investment in the Shanghai Location / "Navigator" Launched to Focus on Consumer Research On June 18, 2008 the global fragrances and flavorings manufacturer Symrise is opening its new Creative Center in Shanghai. The new facility will house all functions and creative resources of the Scent & Care division for the Chinese market. It will also serve as the newly established regional hub for North East Asia. This means the center will be the new home for all departments which are critical for an effective creative process: fragrance development, application, consumer research, marketing and sales for all of the business units in the Scent & Care division (Fragrances, Life Essentials, Aroma Molecules and Mint). 51 employees will work at the new Shanghai office; by 2013 this number is expected to increase to 70. The Center is located in Puxi, the creative heart of Shang...
Editor's Comments:CONSUMER RESEARCH/CHINA

CHINA: Wumart sales, profits rise; Reprint
just-food.com
Editor's Comments:RETAIL CATMAN/CHINA

ORGANIZED RETAILERS IN INDIA MUST SEE CUSTOMERS IN A NEW LIGHT
Asia Pulse
 (BW)(IL-DIAMOND-MANAGEMENT)(DTPI.NASDAQ) Organized Retailers in India Must See the Customer in a New Light to Stay Ahead of the Curve Diamond Management & Technology Consultants Report Highlights Retailers' Growing Need to Build Competitive Advantage through Robust Data Analytics Retail Writers
Editor's Comments:ASIA/INDIA/CONSUMER INSIGHTS

Say 'Aho!' to Native American food
Channel NewsAsia
More than 500 years after Christopher Columbus' discovery of the New World introduced Europe to the diet of Native Americans, Singaporeans could soon see such products on the shelves of Mustafa Centre, or at a local restaurant.  A group of Native Americans were in town last week, eager to get Singaporeans acquainted with such food, which is largely grown on family-run farms and ranches in American states like Oklahoma (bison), Minnesota (wild rice) and New Mexico (beans and blue corn).  At the Food and Hotel Asia 2008 (FHA 2008) convention, local importers such as retailer Mohamed Mustafa and Samsuddin and major food distributor Indoguna expressed interest in placing orders, citing the novelty factor and potential consumer interest.
Editor's Comments:ASIA/NATIVE AMERICAN ETHNIC MARKETING

Lianhua Supermarket Announces 2007 Annual Results; Further Solidify Leading Position by Promoting Transformation and Substantial Development to Increase Improvement; Operational and Financial Highlights;
Business Wire
 Lianhua Supermarket Holdings Co.,Ltd. ("Lianhua Supermarket" or the "Company", together with its subsidiaries, collectively the "Group"; HKEx stock code: 980) today announced its annual results for the 12 months ended 31 December 2007 (the "Review Period" or the "Period"). In 2007, the Group sustained the strategy of "Development, Transformation And Enhancement" and continued to improve operation capabilities. With the full and strong support from the shareholders, customers, the community and over forty thousand dedicated staff, the Group was able to sustain the implementation of strategies and steady growth in all income indicators. Turnover of the Group reached RMB 18.09 billion, an increase of 10% when compared to previous year. During the period, operating profit and profit before taxes enjoyed considerable growth, reaching RMB 417million and RMB 585million, an increase of 81% and 59%, respectively, over the same period last year. Our profit attributable to shareholders was RMB 268million, up by 11.05%. Earnings per share reached RMB [0.43].
Editor's Comments:CHINA/RETAIL CATMAN PROCESS IMPLEMENTED

Cold calls
Hindustan Times
  NEW DELHI, India, April 19 -- The joy of a Sunday morning is that magical moment when, well breakfasted, you sink into your favourite corner, pick up your mug of tea, and plunge into the newspapers (and your copy of Brunch).  Except, now that summer is well upon us, chances are that mug of tea has been replaced by a long, cold glass of juice or a soft drink, clinking with cubes of ice. Because it's so hot now that the only way to cope with life is to drink lots of anything that's cold.  Something we all know, and something that advertisers are also well aware of, as we see any time we switch on the TV. Ad after ad after ad selling one soft drink or another, juice included, selling an idea, a lifestyle, a taste.  Every year, about 25 per cent of the Rs 9,000 crore advertising market is taken over by beverage makers trying to catch your attention and appeal to your loyalty. So if you're young and hip, your choice is Pepsi, if love mangoes, you'll quench your thirst with Frooti, and if you're an adventure freak you'll celebrate your own spirit with a Thums Up or a Mountain Dew.
Editor's Comments:INDIA/BEVERAGE/CONSUMER INSIGHTS

Consumer needs come first
South China Morning Post 
 Life in the vending machine industry may keep you on your toes but for Cindy Chow, senior manager of full service vending at Swire Coca-Cola Hong Kong, this business is full of excitement and challenges presented by consumers and weather changes.
Editor's Comments:CHINA/VENDING/IMPACT OF WEATHER

RetailWire.com and China's TopRetailing.com Collaborate on East/West Retail Industry Interface 
 Upper Montclair, NJ (RETAILWIRE) April 2, 2008 -- RetailWire.com, the leading U.S.-based online forum for retail industry executives, and TopRetailing.com, China's most influential retail industry news and information portal, have announced a set of collaborative services to facilitate better communication between their respective audiences. The collaboration was kicked off last week with the introduction of the RetailWire Online Roundtable on TopRetailing.com, which features the most relevant choice of RetailWire online discussions in summary translation for Chinese businesspeople. The online forum is the first of its kind in China...