Coronavirus crisis slashes H&M 2020 earnings by 90 pct

High street fashion icon H&M said Friday the coronavirus pandemic had slashed its 2020 net profit by 90 percent, with about a third of its some 5,000 stores currently closed.

For its financial year to November, the company reported a net profit of 1.24 billion Swedish kronor (120 million euros) as sales fell 20 percent to 187 billion kronor.

"Our measures to mitigate the negative effects of ongoing restrictions and closures are continuing," chief executive officer Helena Helmersson said in a statement.

"Although the situation at the time of writing is highly challenging, the H&M group stands strong."

Despite continued lockdowns and restrictions, H&M said it would not increase the number of outlets -- 350 -- targeted for closure in the current year.

At the same time, it would open 100 other stores, as planned.

The business was especially hard hit in its second quarter, the height of the first wave of the pandemic when up to 80 percent of its outlets had to close, H&M said.

Among the worst affected markets, sales in France plunged 28 percent, with Italy down 24 percent, the United States 17 percent and Britain 16 percent.

China and Germany did better, registering losses of just 3.0 percent.

H&M said that conditions had worsened again in the later part of the year as a second wave of the pandemic swept through.

For the three months to November -- its fourth quarter -- sales tumbled 15 percent to 52.55 kronor, with net profit down 41 percent at 2.49 billion kronor.

Agence France-Presse

Macy’s posts $400 million loss as sales drop 36%

NEW YORK (AP) — Macy’s got more people to shop on its website and app, but it wasn’t enough to make up for plummeting sales inside its department stores.

Online sales were up 53%, and the company said it attracted 4 million new online customers. But sales sunk 61% inside its stores, which reopened in June after being temporarily closed due to the pandemic.

Macy’s is the country’s largest department store operator, offering a glimpse into what America’s are buying.

With people spending more time at home, shoppers bought fewer dresses, luggage and men’s suits. But they spent more on comfy athletic wear, as well as decor to spruce up their homes. Macy’s said luxury goods did surprisingly well, too, such as high-priced mattresses, perfumes and diamond jewelry. The New York company also owns Bloomingdale’s and the Bluemercury makeup and cosmetic chain.

Many of its department stores are at malls, which have struggled to attract shoppers even before COVID-19. Some of its mall-based rivals have gone bankrupt, including J.C. Penney, Neiman Marcus and Stage Stores.

Over the next two years, Macy’s said it plans to open smaller Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s stores that are not attached to a mall.

For the holiday season, it will spread out discounts over a longer period to avoid overcrowding at its stores and continue to push shoppers to buy online and pick up at the curb.

The virus is also forcing Macy’s to rethink how it will hold its annual holiday events, like Christmas tree lightings, holiday window decorations and its annual Thanksgiving Day parade. But the company didn’t provide any details on changes it plans to make.

Overall, the company reported a second-quarter loss of $431 million, or $1.39 per share, after posting a profit in the same quarter a year ago.

Adjusted losses came to 81 cents per share, which was better than the loss of $1.78 per share Wall Street analysts expected, according to Zacks Investment Research.

Revenue fell 36% to $3.56 billion in the period, also topping analyst expectations.

Shares of Macy’s Inc., which are down nearly 60% so far this year, rose less than 1.5% to $7.12 in midday trading Wednesday.

Associated Press

In era of online retail, Black Friday still lures a crowd

NEW YORK — It would have been easy to turn on their computers at home over plates of leftover turkey and take advantage of the Black Friday deals most retailers now offer online.

But across the country, thousands of shoppers flocked to stores on Thanksgiving or woke up before dawn the next day to take part in this most famous ritual of American consumerism.

Shoppers spent their holiday lined up outside the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota, by 4 p.m. Thursday, and the crowd had swelled to 3,000 people by the time doors opened at 5 a.m. Friday morning. In Ohio, a group of women was so determined, they booked a hotel room Thursday night to be closer to the stores. In New York City, one woman went straight from a dance club to a department store in the middle of the night.

Many shoppers said Black Friday is as much about the spectacle as it is about doorbuster deals.

Kati Anderson said she stopped at Cumberland Mall in Atlanta Friday morning for discounted clothes as well as "the people watching." Her friend, Katie Nasworthy, said she went to the mall instead of shopping online because she likes to see the Christmas decorations.

"It doesn't really feel like Christmas until now," said Kim Bryant, shopping in suburban Denver with her daughter and her daughter's friend, who had lined up at 5:40 a.m., then sprinted inside when the doors opened at 6 a.m.

Brick-and-mortar stores have worked hard to prove they can counter the competition from online behemoth Amazon. From Macy's to Target and Walmart, retailers are blending their online and store shopping experience with new tools like digital maps on smart phones and more options for shoppers to buy online and pick up at stores. And customers, frustrated with long checkout lines, can check out at Walmart and other stores with a salesperson in store aisles.

Consumers nearly doubled their online orders that they picked up at stores from Wednesday to Thanksgiving, according to Adobe Analytics, which tracks online spending.

Priscilla Page, 28, punched her order number into a kiosk near the entrance of a Walmart in Louisville, Kentucky. She found a good deal online for a gift for her boyfriend, then arrived at the store to retrieve it.

"I've never Black Friday-shopped before," she said, as employees delivered her bag minutes later. "I'm not the most patient person ever. Crowds, lines, waiting, it's not really my thing. This was a lot easier."

The holiday shopping season presents a big test for a U.S. economy, whose overall growth so far this year has relied on a burst of consumer spending. Americans upped their spending during the first half of 2018 at the strongest pace in four years, yet retail sales gains have tapered off recently. The sales totals over the next month will be a good indicator as to whether consumers simply paused to catch their breath or feel less optimistic about the economy in 2019.

The National Retail Federation, the nation's largest retail trade group, is expecting holiday retail sales to increase as much as 4.8 percent over 2017 for a total of $720.89 billion. The sales growth marks a slowdown from last year's 5.3 percent, but remains healthy.

The retail economy is also tilting steeply toward online shopping. Over the past 12 months, purchases at non-store retailers such as Amazon have jumped 12.1 percent as sales at traditional department stores have slumped 0.3 percent. Adobe Analytics reported Thursday that Thanksgiving reached a record $3.7 billion in online retail sales, up 28 percent from the same year ago period. For Black Friday, online spending was on track to hit more than $6.4 billion, according to Adobe.

Target reported that shoppers bought big ticket items like TVs, iPads, and Apple Watches. Among the most popular toy deals were Lego, L.O.L. Surprise from MGA Entertainment and Mattel's Barbie. It said gamers picked up video game consoles like Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 and the Xbox One.

Others reported stumbling onto more obscure savings. At a Cincinnati mall, Bethany Carrington scored a $29 all-in-one trimmer for her husband's nose hair needs and, for $17, "the biggest Mr. Potato Head I've ever seen."

Black Friday itself has morphed from a single day when people got up early to score doorbusters into a whole month of deals. Plenty of major stores including Macy's, Walmart and Target started their deals on Thanksgiving evening. But some families are sticking by their Black Friday traditions.

"We boycotted Thursday shopping; that's the day for family. But the experience on Friday is just for fun," said Michelle Wise, shopping at Park Meadows Mall in Denver with her daughters, 16-year-old Ashleigh and 14-year-old Avery.

By mid-day Friday, there had not been widespread reports of the deal-inspired chaos that has become central to Black Friday lore — fist fights over discounted televisions or stampedes toward coveted sale items.

Two men at an Alabama mall got into a fight, and one of the men opened fire, shooting the other man and a 12-year-old bystander, both of whom were taken to the hospital with injuries. Police shot and killed the gunman. Authorities have not said whether the incident was related to Black Friday shopping or if it stemmed from an unrelated dispute.

Candice Clark arrived at the Walmart in Louisville with her 19-year-old daughter Desiree Douthitt, looked around and remarked at how calm it all seemed. They have long been devotees of Black Friday deals and for years braved the crowds and chaos. Clark's son, about 10 years ago, got hit in the head with a griddle as shoppers wrestled over it. They saw one woman flash a Taser and threaten to use it on anyone who came between her and her desired fondue pot.

They've watched over the years as the traditional madness of the day has dissipated as shopping transitioned to online and stores stretched their sales from a one-day sprint to a days-long marathon.

"It seems pretty normal in here," said Roy Heller, as he arrived at the Louisville Walmart, a little leery of Black Friday shopping, but pleasantly surprised to find that he didn't even have to stand in line.

He had tried to buy his son a toy robot on Amazon, but it was sold out. Friday morning, he frantically searched the internet and found one single robot left, at a Walmart 25 miles from his home. He bought it online and arrived an hour later to pick it up.

Employees delivered his bag, he held it up and declared: "I got the last one in Louisville!"

____

Galofaro is based in Louisville, Kentucky. Associated Press writers Jeff Martin in Atlanta, Ryan Tarinelli in Dallas, Katie Foody in Denver, Angie Wang in Cincinnati, Amy Taxin from Costa Mesa, California also contributed to this report.

source: philstar.com

6 killed as garbage truck ploughs into Glasgow Christmas shoppers, driver possibly had heart attack

LONDON - Six people were killed and eight others injured in Glasgow, Scotland on Monday when a garbage truck ploughed into crowds of Christmas shoppers in what appeared to be a tragic accident.

One eyewitness described the vehicle knocking people down "like pinballs" as it veered out of control over a distance of around 300 meters (about 1,000 feet), only stopping when it crashed into a hotel.

"Sadly six people have died as a result of the George Square major road incident," read a tweet on the Scottish police force's official account.

Police superintendent Stewart Carle told reporters at the scene that people were killed over "a number of sites."

He said the driver, who reported by some British media to have slumped at the wheel and perhaps to have suffered a heart attack, was being treated in hospital.

An investigation was under way to establish exactly what had happened, police said.

"The bin lorry just lost control. It went along the pavement, knocking everyone like pinballs," eyewitness Melanie Greig told Sky News.

"People were trying to run out of the way but when something was coming out behind them like that, how can they run out of the way?" she said.

She added: "There was noise, bangs, screams and everything. It was just horrific."

The rubbish truck, owned by Glasgow City Council, mounted the pavement and hit the first pedestrian outside the Gallery of Modern Art on Queen Street at about 2:30 p.m. (1430 GMT), police said.

It struck several more as it continued at speed for another two blocks, crashing at the Millennium Hotel on George Square, near Queen Street station.

Emergency services cordoned off the normally bustling area in what is Scotland's biggest city.

The incident took place the day after a driver with psychiatric problems in the French town of Dijon ploughed into pedestrians, injuring 13.

'Sad day for Scotland'

Scottish police said there was nothing "sinister" about the Glasgow incident, calling it an accident.

"It is a road traffic collision with multiple fatalities," Carle said, adding: "It does not look to be a criminal or deliberate attack."

The accident happened near the Scottish city's main shopping hub, where shoppers filled the streets just three days before Christmas Day.

Residents began leaving floral tributes at the scene, and a note attached to a bunch of pink roses read "To all those who lost their lives and witnessed this horrible tragedy."

The accident occurred just over a year after another tragedy in the city in which ten people died when a police helicopter crashed onto the roof of a pub.

Prime Minister David Cameron said he was being kept informed of developments.

Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon called it a "sad day for Glasgow and Scotland" and urged anyone who was in the area at the time of the accident to contact their loved ones.

"My thoughts are with everyone involved in this tragic incident, and especially with the friends and families of the six people who lost their lives," she said in a statement.

source: interaksyon.com

From robbers to vendors, Swedes brace for cashless future

STOCKHOLM — Peter, 55 years old and homeless, is standing at a Stockholm supermarket, carrying the two objects that help him make a living: a stack of magazines and a debit card reader.

The magazine, Situation Stockholm, is sold by the poor to bring in some income, but for Peter and many other vendors the problem in recent years has been that cash is falling out of use, and passers-by often don’t have 50 kronor (5.70 euros, $7.80) at the ready to buy a copy.

The card reader, provided by the magazine’s publishers, has come to the rescue, and Peter, who asked not to be identified by his last name, couldn’t be happier.

“Customers can follow every step so that they don’t feel cheated,” he said, showing the functions of the device. “I’m impressed by this thing. It’s cool.”

Mattias Stroemberg, a potential customer taking a look at Peter’s magazines, welcomed the opportunity to pay with cards: “I never carry cash around. No one does anymore.”

In Sweden, only 27 percent of retail sales are made with cash, according to a recent paper by the European Central Bank. If online sales were included, the figure would be even smaller.

All the Nordic countries are rapidly on the way towards a cashless society, deepening an existing divide between north and south in Europe. In Greece and Romania, for example, 95 percent of transactions are still in cash.

Not everyone in Sweden cheers the transition. In a celebrated case, a would-be robber entered a Stockholm bank, but had to leave empty-handed, discovering that he had picked a cashless bank.

Criminals are not the only ones affected. From Copenhagen to Reykjavik, the cashless society has profoundly changed the ways people live.

Everything from hot dogs to taxes is paid for online, with bank cards, or by SMS. Many buses refuse cash — confounding foreign tourists — and the newly opened ABBA Museum in the Swedish capital also only accepts credit and debit cards.

“Neither retailers nor banks have any obligation to accept cash,” according to the nation’s central bank, the Riksbank.

‘A society where cash is reduced to a minimum’

“We’ll probably not see a totally cashless society in the near future, but a society where cash is reduced to a minimum and used in very few situations, is probably quite realistic,” said Niklas Arvidsson, a researcher at the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, who published a study on the topic earlier this year.

The big winners are the banks and card companies, but in the end, all of society could benefit as cash is more expensive to handle than electronic payments, he said.

But the elderly and rural citizens, as well as the socially marginalised with high credit risk such as the long-term unemployed, would have problems if cash disappeared completely, he argued.

“If our society goes in this direction, that you basically can’t do anything at all without access to debit or credit cards … it might even create further marginalisation and exclusion,” said Leif Oeberg, development director at the Swedish Salvation Army, which offers support to people in need.

“The absolute and almost immediate effect … is that you can’t travel by bus. What we see at the other end of the spectrum is that the most marginalised get around on foot … or travel (by metro) without a ticket, but you can’t do that on the bus. That is the stark reality for people today,” he added.

There exists an alternative — pre-paid debit cards that people can later recharge at convenience stores, but with a minimum of 200 kronor (22 euros, $30) even this can pose difficulties.

Arvidsson also warned that consumers’ rights might be at risk as the electronic trail every card user leaves behind could be misused for marketing purposes.

“There is a concern that today’s laws are insufficient,” said Arvidsson. “The authorities must ensure that the information is used correctly.”

Other losers in the cashless game are smaller shops struggling with high card fees, especially after Sweden implemented a new law in 2010 that banned imposing surcharges on customers for paying with cards.

That means the retailers themselves must deal with the fees to the card-issuing companies — up to 2.50 kronor per transaction, plus an additional percentage fee.

Since 70 percent of all retail transactions in Sweden are by card, both debit and credit, it adds up to a sizable sum.

Retailers include the fee in the prices of their products, but for smaller shops it’s a problem because they don’t have the economies of scale and thus have a hard time keeping prices low.

For reasons such as these, Swedish money is not about to go completely virtual.

The Riksbank, which having been founded in 1668 is one of the world’s oldest central banks, still plans to launch new banknotes and coins in 2015.

“We believe cash will continue to exist in the near future. We can’t foresee it disappearing completely,” said Christina Wejshammar, head of the banknotes and coins division at the Riksbank. “It all depends on how we act as consumers.”

source: interaksyon.com

Bargain hunters to flock to Divisoria, Baclaran as Christmas Season fast approaches

MANILA, Sept. 15—With the “ber” months now at hand and the Yuletide Season just a few knocks away, Filipino bargain hunters are expected to make an exodus at the various malls in Divisoria and Baclaran that are known to sell cheap but quality goods such as clothes, shoes and even Christmas fares.

Long-time patrons are convinced that items sold in these establishments are cheaper by as much as 40 to 50 percent compared to the other well known malls in Metro Manila.

“Polo shirts (in Divisoria and Baclaran) that are normally sold for P500 in well known malls can be bought for as low as P200 or P150 depending on your ability to bargain with the sales staff,” Eva Alejo, 47, a resident of Barangay Muzon, Malabon said in Filipino.

Aside from shirts, leather and rubber shoes are also for the picking, provided that one is patient enough to walk through the maze of stalls where they are located.

Alejo said that she is now saving money so that she can buy Christmas clothing for her grandchildren.

She added that she will drop by these malls within November or the early weeks of December.

Another bargain hunter, Catherine Encarnacion, also of Malabon City, said that what she likes about these malls is the preponderance of cheap electronic appliances like DVDs and cellphones which are usually sold at very fair prices.

“Prices are usually 50 percent lower than those being sold in high-end malls and the quality is not that bad either,” she stressed.

And for someone working overtime to make both ends meet, Encarnacion said that this is godsend.

Some stalls in Divisoria and Baclaran are also known to sell copies of “designer or signature clothes” 70 to 50 percent lower than the actual cost of the legitimate product.

And since some Filipinos are very brand conscious, the trade in these items are usually brisk despite the risk to the stall owners caught selling such items.

Violators are usually charged with trademark Infringement under the Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines or Republic Act 8293.

Recently, P20-million worth of fake “Lee” pants were seized by operatives of the National Bureau of Investigation-Intellectual Property Rights Division (NBI-IPRD) during operations in Pasay City last September 6.

This is equivalent to around 13,759 pairs of fake “Lee” pants. These items were seized from the two stockrooms of Willie Ang located at One Shopping Center and Khatar Region, Kapitan Ambo, Pasay City and showroom and two stockrooms of Willie Cheng located at New Galleria Baclaran Shopping Mall and at Park Avenue Shoe Plaza (HSP2), Park Avenue, also in Pasay City.

The government is expected to crack down hard on stall owners selling “counterfeit goods” in the coming Yuletide Season due to complaints raised by manufacturers who are claiming that the distribution and selling of such items are detrimental to their product.

source: interaksyon.com

iGrab everything you want at online shop’s new physical store

Afraid of being duped out of the money, as let’s face it, there are online stories circulating which people who cannot get the items, products, or  services that they want.

Here comes iGrab.ph a new player in the online shopping industry, which was launched in  October last year. iGrab differs from other online stores as it recently launched a physical store at the ground floor of the Newport Mall at Resorts World Manila. Situated beside the mall entrance, the site’s shoppers can redeem the items that they have bought online.

“The physical store is mainly a redemption outlet. For example you bought a watch or a perfume, and you are here in Resorts World Manila, you can claim it here,” Jay Anthony D. Padua, IGrab’s AVP for Marketing discussed. All consumers need to do is provide the coupon they have received through email, proof that they have bought from the online store and the item will be theirs. Some of the items can be purchased on the kiosk using the online platform with the computers provided for. Padua discloses, “if these products are within the store you can buy them outright.”


Just like other online shops and group buying sites, iGrab offers goods from luxury items to vacation getaways at a discounted price.  A brands page can be even viewed for people who want to know what labels plus how much price off they can get from this shopping outlet.

Apart from the usual items, iGrab also has discounted tickets to activities and events. It can give its customers affordable access to Resorts World Manila events as it has a marketing partnership with the one of Manila’s top destination.  iGrab gives discounts to upcoming shows such as Cinderella and even movie deals for PhP80, and more.

According to Padua, iGrab continues to strive to look for new merchants as well as give the consumers new campaigns.  “We thought that this (the physical store, ecommerce and group buying site) is the easiest way to get customers to easily adapt to this marketing platform and promotions for our merchants,” Padua shared.

With great discounts, anyone will definitely start grabbing deals anytime now. Browse through iGrab, and see the bargains for yourself, but if you are afraid of using that credit card, or making a deposit, then go to Resorts World Manila and check out the walloping price off.

iGrab is a virtual shopping  outlet by NetDeals, Inc., which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Alliance Global Group, Inc.,  Alliance Global Group, Inc. is the group behind Megaworld Corporation, Emperador Distillers, and many more successful brands.

 source: interaksyon.com

Japan’s TV giants hawk $3 billion of assets in giant ‘garage sale’

TOKYO — Panasonic Corp, Japan’s struggling maker of Viera brand TVs, owns more than 10 million square meters of office and factory space, dormitories for its workers and sports facilities for its rugby, baseball and women’s athletics teams.

As it battles for Christmas shoppers’ wallets in the year-end holiday season, the sprawling electronics conglomerate is also seeking buyers for some of those properties to trim its fixed costs and improve cashflow at a time of intense competition, particularly from South Korean rivals such as Samsung Electronics Co.

Japan’s other troubled TV makers, Sony Corp and Sharp Corp, are also selling buildings and businesses in a giant ‘garage sale’ that could raise a combined $3 billion.

Panasonic plans to raise $1.34 billion from offloading property and shares in other Japanese companies by end-March, the group’s chief financial officer Hideaki Kawai told Reuters.

“We have a lot of land and buildings in Japan and overseas,” he said in an interview at the company’s head office in Osaka, in western Japan. He declined to list which properties would go on the block, but said most are in Japan. He added that Panasonic would raise about a quarter of the sell-off funds by getting rid of shares it owns in other companies – a common practice of cross-shareholdings in Japan.

The proceeds would help bolster free cashflow to 200 billion yen ($2.43 billion) for the business year to March, Kawai said, and allow Panasonic to reduce its debt and maintain its crucial research and development effort as it revamps its business portfolio.

It will sell more assets in the year starting in April if cashflow dips below 200 billion yen, Kawai added. Panasonic President Kazuhiro Tsuga has promised to shut or sell businesses operating at below a 5 percent margin. Those sales could start as soon as April.

Panasonic’s fixed assets of $21 billion are around 30 percent more than those of Apple Inc, and are almost double the company’s market value. The company, founded almost a century ago as a small electrical extension socket maker, trades at around half its book value – which includes intangible assets such as patents. Sony trades at 39 percent of book, Sharp at 30 percent.

The fixed assets – buildings, land and machinery – of the three companies that were not so long ago a byword for innovation in household gadgetry total around $42 billion, while their combined market value is $24 billion.

Cashflow is king

The three firms have been downgraded by credit ratings agencies, making it tougher to raise funding on capital markets, and making asset sales more urgent.

Selling assets “is good in terms of their credit ratings because, for all three, it will lower fixed costs and they can reduce their capex requirements. Eventually, this could improve operating margins and, more importantly, cashflow,” said Alvin Lim, an analyst at Fitch Ratings in Seoul.

Fitch, which makes its ratings without input from company management, last month cut Panasonic to BB and Sony to BB minus, the first time one of the major agencies has relegated either company to junk status. Sharp is ranked B minus, adding to its borrowing costs.

“We rate Panasonic as investment grade, and it should have various funding options. Selling assets it can do without, to avoid raising additional borrowing, can be an option,” said Osamu Kobayashi, an analyst at Standard & Poor’s.

While Korean rivals have also benefited from a weaker local currency, data from the Japan Electronics and Information Technology Industries Association shows that Japanese production of consumer electronic equipment fell to just above $15 billion last year from more than $19 billion a decade ago. Output in September was just $980 million, half last year’s level.

“The gap with Korean makers seems to be widening. It’s going to be very difficult for them to regain their top-tier position,” said Fitch’s Lim.

As the three Japanese firms, all under new leadership, have sketched out restructuring plans, the cost of insuring their debt against defaulting in 5 years has dropped from spikes just a month ago. Credit default swaps for Sharp and Sony are down to levels last seen 3 months ago, while Panasonic’s have dropped 40 percent in the past month.

Three paths

While Panasonic is looking to revamp its business around batteries, auto parts and household appliances, Sony is doubling down on smartphones, gaming and cameras. Sharp, meanwhile, is focusing on display screens and is forging alliances with the likes of Taiwan’s Hon Hai Precision Industry and U.S. chipmaker Qualcomm Inc.

Sony may also take the real estate sale route to raise much-needed cash, with a possible sale of its 37-storey New York headquarters, dubbed by New Yorkers as the ‘Chippendale’ because of its design that is reminiscent of the period English furniture. Selling that jewel could raise $1 billion, media have reported.

The maker of Vaio laptops, PlayStation gaming consoles and Bravia TVs may also sell its battery business, which makes lithium ion power packs for tablets, PCs and mobile phones. The company has been approached by investment banks offering to sell the unit, which employs 2,700 people and has three factories in Japan and two overseas assembly plants. Sony values the business’s fixed assets at $636 million.

Potential buyers could include BYD Co Ltd, a Chinese carmaker backed by billionaire investor Warren Buffett, and Taiwan’s Hon Hai – which part owns Sharp’s advanced LCD panel plant in Sakai, western Japan, and is in talks to buy TV assembly plants in China, Malaysia and Mexico for $667 million, Japan’s Sankei newspaper has reported.

Sharp has mortgaged nearly all its properties to secure a $4.6 billion bailout from Japanese banks and so has few assets to offer in a grand garage sale.

Instead, it’s selling part of the garage.

Qualcomm has agreed to buy a 5 percent stake in Sharp, making it the largest shareholder. Hon Hai, which earlier this year agreed to invest in Sharp – before its stock slumped in the wake of record losses – has said it remains interested in taking a stake.

“Whatever they can get to get through this fiscal period by scaling down their operation is a critical step for them to remain afloat,” said Fitch’s Lim.

source: interaksyon.com

Microsoft, Google in catfight over online shopping

WASHINGTON — Just in time for the holidays, Microsoft and Google have become embroiled in a bitter dispute over who is the fairest of them all for online shopping, stepping up the battle between the tech giants.

Microsoft threw the first punch when it launched a campaign for its Bing search engine “to highlight Bing’s commitment to honest search results.”

The campaign also seeks “to help explain to consumers the risks of Google Shopping’s newly announced ‘pay-to-rank’ practice,” a Microsoft statement said.

Microsoft created a Web page called “Scroogled,” which points out that its rival has reversed course on its pledge at the time of the Google stock offering to avoid paid ad inclusion for search results.

“Google Shopping is nothing more than a list of targeted ads that unsuspecting customers assume are search results,” Microsoft claims.

Google announced earlier this year it would revamp its product search to become a shopping service with paid listings. This eliminated merchants which opted not to pay, including some notable ones like Amazon.

Google said it completed the transition October 17 in the US, and will be rolling out the same model in Britain, Germany, France, Japan, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, Brazil, Australia and Switzerland.

“We think this will bring the same high-quality shopping experience to people — and positive results to merchants — around the world,” a Google blog posting said.

Microsoft is promoting its campaign online and offline with ads “demonstrating why consumers should be concerned and helping them take action” on the Google shift, a Microsoft statement said.

“We’re also calling on Google to stop this ‘pay-to-rank’ system for their shopping results and give shoppers what they expect — an honest search.”

Google maintains that merchants cannot improve their rank simply by paying more, and that sellers who have a financial stake in the results will keep their information up to date.

“Google Shopping makes it easier for shoppers to quickly find what they’re looking for, compare different products and connect with merchants to make a purchase,” said an email from a Google spokeswoman.

But some analysts say both companies are less than transparent about how their shopping engines work, and that Microsoft is not without blame.

Danny Sullivan, analyst with the website Search Engine Land, said of the Microsoft effort: “Great campaign, if it were true. It’s not. Bing itself does the same things it accuses Google of.”

Sullivan told AFP that “at least Google has the fine print that you can read; Microsoft doesn’t have it at all.”

Microsoft, according to Sullivan, excludes new merchants from Bing search results if they don’t pay for inclusion with its partner, Shopping.com, even though this is not fully transparent to consumers.

“Payment is a factor for ranking,” in Bing, said Sullivan, who maintains that Microsoft’s campaign is misleading.

Microsoft said its own shopping results through Bing are not influenced by payment.

“Bing includes millions of free listings from merchants and rankings are determined entirely by which products are most relevant to your query,” said Stefan Weitz, senior director at Bing, in an emailed statement.

“While merchants can pay fees for inclusion on our third party shopping sites and subsequently may appear in Bing Shopping through partnerships we have, we do not rank merchants higher based on who pays us, nor do we let merchants pay to have their product offers placed higher in Bing Shopping’s search results.”

Sullivan argues that Google, ironically, may have moved to paid listings to deflect attention from regulators and others who complain it had been skewing its search results.

“If you have people complaining you search results are unfair, you can turn them into ads,” he said.

But Sullivan noted that Google merely adopted the same policies of most shopping sites, which use paid listings even if they appear to be an impartial search.

The overall message from the latest row, according to Sullivan: “You need to shop around. Use multiple search engines. All of them that suggest that they are gathering stuff from across the Web but may not be doing that.”

source: interaksyon.com

Markco Media founder launches online department store

Mark Pearson launches online department store, HushHush.com, that discounts some of the top clothing brands. The site saw more than a quarter of a million people sign up before it was even launched, according to the Markco Media Chairman and Founder.



HushHush offers up what it says are a handpicked collection of popular brands including Calvin Klein and Dolce & Gabbana. Whilst fashion is the site’s core proposition, it also seems to offer various home furnishings too.

At first glance, HushHush looks like an aggregator of high-end, fashion and home-related, daily deals. Indeed, this is the general idea behind the concept. Pearson said that products are on the site for few days, meaning consumers must be quick to grab a bargain.

Satisfying retailers' cravings

Pearson told A4u that he came up with the concept earlier this year after being badgered by merchants. “While I was over in the USA this Summer I started to think about how a lot of retailers over the years have asked us how we can promote their products more,” he said. “Everyone always wants more!”

One feature undoubtedly helping HushHush to entice consumers is the offer of free credit. Pearson confirmed new users will receive £10 after registering, plus for every friend that signs up and buys, they will receive another £10.

Support for all the major social networks is available on HushHush. Pearson also alluded to integration with Facebook’s new Want feature set when it becomes more widely available after its initial testing period in the USA.

“We are keen to be a very accessible, social site that allows users to easily share their favourite products on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest, as well as to create HushHush wish lists so they can browse the site and have a look at all of the collections before they decide to buy,” he revealed.

source: affiliates4u.com

Online sales jump on Cyber Monday, eBay shines

SAN FRANCISCO — Online sales jumped on Cyber Monday, sending e-commerce retailers’ shares higher and suggesting strong growth from earlier in the holiday shopping season is continuing for now.

Sales on eBay Inc’s online marketplace were particularly strong and Amazon.com Inc continued its rapid holiday shopping season growth, according to early Cyber Monday data released by e-commerce firm ChannelAdvisor.





EBay’s shares climbed 4.9 percent to close at $51.40. The stock hit an intra-day high of $51.78, the highest level since early 2005. Amazon’s shares gained 1.6 percent to $243.62.

Cyber Monday has been the biggest online shopping day in recent years, as workers return to offices and use computers to make holiday purchases. ComScore expects online sales to hit a record of about $1.5 billion by day’s end.

Online sales were up 25.6 percent as of 3:00 pm EST on Monday, compared with the same period a year ago, according to International Business Machines Corp which tracks transaction data from 500 U.S. retail websites. In 2011, Cyber Monday year-over-year growth was 15 percent by 3:00 pm, IBM said.

Strong online sales growth on Thanksgiving Day and “Black Friday” sparked concern that shoppers were just buying earlier, threatening revenue later in the season.

“So far, that is not the case,” said Jay Henderson, the strategy director for IBM Smarter Commerce. “Extending the shopping season has really just fueled additional online spending rather than cannibalizing days later in the season.”

ChannelAdvisor said client sales – or sales generated by third-party merchants using the company’s software – soared 57 percent on eBay.com early on Monday, compared with the same period in 2011.

The growth rate was five times higher than during the same period last year, said ChannelAdvisor, which helps merchants sell more online.

“The early eBay numbers are impressive,” said R.J. Hottovy, an equity analyst at Morningstar. “They put together an effective marketing plan across several channels this holiday season – online, television and print.”

EBay has been trying to move away from its online auction roots, emphasizing new items selling at fixed prices to better compete with Amazon.

“The numbers suggest they’re having success reintroducing consumers to the ‘new eBay,’” Hottovy said.

PayPal, the payments division of eBay, said the volume of mobile transactions it processed by 2:00 pm EST on Cyber Monday almost tripled versus the same period last year.

Client sales on Amazon.com were up 52 percent during the first part of Cyber Monday, ChannelAdvisor also reported.

“Amazon continues to look impressive to us since it is building on top of large numbers,” said Scott Tilghman, an analyst at Caris & Company.

Discounts

Online retailers held back some of their best promotions and biggest discounts until Cyber Monday, which helped spur sales, IBM’s Henderson and ChannelAdvisor’s Wingo said.

Amazon offered $30 off its 7 inch Kindle Fire tablet, which usually sells for $159. The deal was only available on Cyber Monday and was still available at 5:00 pm EST.

EBay promoted Cyber Monday deals on iPads, made by Apple Inc, and Nook devices from Barnes & Noble.

These types of discounts attract shoppers to Amazon and eBay’s websites, where they may purchase other items too, Wingo explained.

‘WII U’ sells out

EBay has also benefited as some hot holiday items sold out this year at some retailers. When that happens, shoppers often turn to eBay, where third-party sellers are usually still offering the items at higher prices.

Nintendo Co Ltd said on Monday its new “Wii U” video game consoles sold out at retailers in the United States.

The devices were still available on ebay.com on Monday at 10 to 20 percent above the suggested retail price, according to Jesse Divnich, an analyst at video game research firm EEDAR.

Margin question

Despite strong sales data, analysts are concerned that heavy discounting may pressure retailers’ profit margins, online and offline.

The average online order size on Cyber Monday was $130.30 as of 3:00 pm EST. That was down from almost $200 during the whole of Cyber Monday last year, according to IBM.

Online order sizes are shrinking as consumers buy more digital goods, such as e-books, music and video, which generally cost less. However, discounting is also pressuring order size and that could feed through to lower margins, Morningstar’s Hottovy said.

EBay margins should be relatively well protected because the company charges a commission on sales by third-party merchants and retailers.

Amazon operates like this, but, unlike eBay, the company also has its own product inventory so it may be exposed to margin pressure, according to Colin Sebastian, analyst at R.W. Baird.

source: interaksyon.com

Why We Buy: The Science of Shopping

Ready or not, the holidays are here and the shopping season is upon us. Although I wish I could convince you not to shop during November and December -- I'm a fan of Buy Nothing Day myself -- I realize I'm in the minority. It's Black Friday. It's Christmas. People are going to shop.

If you do choose to shop this time of year, be smart about it. Make no mistake: It's a war out there, my friends, and the merchants aren't on your side. They want your hard-earned money just as much as you do, and they've got all sorts of tricks to separate you from your cash.

You see, merchants are smart. They spend billions of dollars every year conducting research into what makes people like you and me buy things. And so they put the sweetened cereal at your six-year-old's eye level. They block the aisles with displays to create traffic jams in front of the things they want to sell. They'll even use scent to encourage spending!

In his 2000 book Why We Buy: The Science of Shopping, Paco Underhill — an environmental psychologist — described what he'd learn through years of research into consumer behavior and retail marketing. Some of this stuff is very subtle.

Take this anecdote, for instance:

I once heard a talk given by the vice president of merchandising from a national chain of young women's clothing stores in which she deconstructed a particular display of T-shirts. "We buy them in Sri Lanka for $3 each," she began.

"Then we bring them over here and sew in washing instructions, which are in French and English. Notice we don't say the shirts are made in France. But you can infer that if you like. Then we merchandise the hell out of them — we fold them just right on a tasteful tabletop display, and on the wall behind it we hang a huge, gorgeous photograph of a beautiful woman in an exotic locale wearing the shirt. We shoot it so it looks like a million bucks. Then we call it an Expedition T-shirt, and we sell it for $37. And we sell a lot of them, too."

It was the most depressing valuable lesson I've ever had.

Like it or not, you're manipulated all of the time while you're shopping, and in ways you don't even suspect. But by taking Underhill's lessons for marketers and flipping them around, you can make yourself immune to marketers' manipulations. (Well, maybe not immune, but less likely to succumb to their ploys, anyhow.)

Here are a few easy changes you can make to spend less while shopping:

• Spend less time in stores. Underhill writes, "The amount of time a shopper spends in a store (assuming he or she is shopping, not waiting in line) is perhaps the single most important factor in determining how much he or she will buy." Don't browse. Shop with a purpose.
• Don't use a basket. Only use a basket (or shopping cart) if it's absolutely necessary. Baskets induce people to buy more. And you know how the upscale places offer to place your items behind the counter to make it easier for you to shop? That leads you to buy more too.
• Only seek employee contact if you need help. Employee interaction also induces people to buy more. Underhill notes that "the more shopper-employee contacts that take place, the greater the average sale."
• Don't try samples. Research indicates that people are more likely to buy something if they can sample it first. Don't try the samples as you wheel around the giant warehouse store — or stand at the perfume counter. They're likely to make you want the product.
• Don't examine or handle things you don't need. The more you interact with something, the more likely you are to buy it. "Virtually all unplanned purchases — and many planned ones, too — come as a result of the shopper seeing, touching, smelling, or tasting something that promises pleasure, if not total fulfillment."
• Don't try on clothes you don't need. "Shopper conversion rates increase by half when there is a staff-initiated contact, and it jumps to 100 percent when there is staff-initiated contact and use of the dressing room. In other words, a shopper who talks to a salesperson and tries something on is twice as likely to buy as a shopper who does neither."
• Avoid advertising. Advertising exists for one purpose: to get you to buy things. If you don't want a closet full of clothes you never wear, reduce your exposure to advertising.
• Make a list and stick to it. The majority of supermarket purchases are unplanned. Underhill writes: "In one supermarket study, we counted how many shoppers came armed with lists. Almost all of the women had them. Less than a quarter of the men did. Any wife who's watching the family budget knows better than to send her husband to the supermarket unchaperoned."
• Ignore the racks of impulse items. Those things by the cash registers are high-margin products designed to make the retailer profit while parting you from your money. These are not things that you need.
• Don't go shopping. The number one way not to buy anything is not to go shopping. It's obvious, but true.

Many of you have probably read Malcolm Gladwell's best-selling Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking. That book, too, points out the power of marketing, emphasizing how shoppers are manipulated in lots of tiny ways. Even when we think we're immune to marketing, we're not.

Here's how Underhill sums up his own research:

Good stores perform a kind of retailing judo — they use the shopper's own momentum, her largely unspoken inclinations and desires, to get her to move in a direction unplanned, and often unaware. In the end, it's not enough that goods be within reach of the shopper — she must want to reach them. And having reached them, she must then wish to own them, or all this effort goes to nought. Amid so much science, we discover in the end it's love that makes the world of retailing go round.

So, be careful out there, folks. If you're going to shop on Black Friday — or at any other point during the holiday season — be smart about it. Go prepared. Stick to your budget. And, most of all, watch for the tricks that merchants use to lure you to buy.

source: savings.com

US shoppers welcome early start to 'Black Friday'

NEW YORK/BLOOMINGTON, Minnesota - Retailers declared their experiment with earlier store openings to kick off the holiday shopping season a success on Friday, with those new hours expected to be a Thanksgiving night staple for more retailers next year.

Stores such as Target Corp opened hours before midnight on Thursday to try to capture a bigger piece of the retail pie. The move seemed to bring out a different type of shopper than the usual one who grabs the "Black Friday" deals, analysts said.

That meant by Friday morning, some shoppers, like Christian Alcantara, 18, at a J.C. Penney Co Inc store in Queens, New York, had already made a lot of their purchases. J.C. Penney stuck to a more traditional 6 a.m. EST (1100 GMT) Friday opening.

"They should open earlier. I've been everywhere else and I've already shopped," he said.

Shoppers like Alcantara are likely to force holdouts like J.C. Penney to move their post-Thanksgiving sales into Thursday night next year, said Liz Ebert, retail lead at consulting firm KPMG LLP.

"There will be pressure on them. There'll be an expansion of it next year," Ebert said.

Hard data on "Black Friday" store traffic will not come in until this weekend. But analysts said retailers who opened early brought in a non-traditional Black Friday shopper, with more families coming in together and buying more than just the "doorbuster" sale items.

"I've never seen parents bring so many kids on Black Friday," Toys R Us Chief Executive Jerry Storch said.

The National Retail Federation expects sales during November and December to rise 4.1 percent this year, below last year's 5.6 percent increase. That made store operators' strategy important as they battled each other, rather than seeing a growing pie in a season when U.S. retailers can make a third of their annual sales and 40 to 50 percent of their profits.

"Retailers want them to buy now, they want to get that share of wallet early," said Michael Appel, a director at consulting firm AlixPartners. He noticed that the Galleria Mall in White Plains, New York, was busy from midnight to 3 a.m., but that traffic, while still brisk, was less heavy by midmorning.

Shoppers used smartphones and tablets and a lot of research as they hit stores, a mobile phenomenon that started last year and seemed to be more prevalent this year.

Thom Blischok, chief retail strategist and a senior executive adviser with Booz & Company's Retail practice, was waiting on line with one woman in Phoenix, who was shopping for a refrigerator. Using her mobile device, she found the appliance online for the same price and left the store without. She intended to buy it online instead.

"There's a fundamental transformation of shopping," he said.

Mobile devices account for 45 percent walmart.com traffic and online traffic coming from Walmart's mobile app was three times bigger than last year, Joel Anderson, chief executive of Walmart.com, said.

Overall, online sales were up 20 percent versus the same period last year, through 3 p.m. EST (2000 GMT) on Friday, IBM said.

The National Retail Federation said 147 million people would shop Friday through Sunday, when deals are at their most eye-catching - down from 152 million the same weekend last year.

The NRF estimate did not account for Thursday shoppers and anecdotal evidence suggested retailers opening earlier may have cut into traffic on "Black Friday", the traditional start of the holiday season that denotes the point when retailers in the past would turn a profit for the year.

"People seemed to be shopping quite a bit, although in talking to mall management, it seemed that traffic was not as busy as last year," Deloitte retail analyst Ramesh Swamy said.

Retailers were also using technology better, allowing sales staff to match prices customers found online and having them use tablets as mobile "checkout stands" so buyers did not have to wait in line, a service consumers were quickly coming to expect.

"I even heard customers complaining about a retailer that didn't have mobile checkout," he said.

Saving up for Christmas spree

According to a Reuters/Ipsos poll, two-thirds of shoppers were planning to spend the same amount of money as last year or were unsure about plans, while 21 percent intended to spend less, and 11 percent planned to spend more.

"I definitely have more money this year," said Amy Balser, 26, at the head of the line outside the Best Buy store in the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota. "I definitely don't think (the economy) has bounced back anywhere near as much as it needs to, but I see some improvement," she said.

For others, Christmas is the focal point of their annual shopping.

"We cut back spending on birthdays and anniversaries so we'd have more for Christmas. We've adapted," said Cheri Albus, 58, of Papillion, Nebraska, after shopping at J.C. Penney at Westroads Mall in Omaha.

Retail stocks rose in holiday-shortened trading on Friday, in line with gains across the market. Among the leaders, Wal-Mart ended up 1.9 percent and Macy's Inc rose 1.8 percent.

Starting early

Across the country, store lines were long - in the hundreds or more in many places - with the move toward earlier opening hours appearing to help. By sunrise on Friday, it was commonplace, even at large stores in the major cities, to find many more staffers than shoppers.

While the shift to earlier openings was criticized by store employees and traditionalists because it pulled people away from families on the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday, many shoppers welcomed the chance to shop before midnight or in the early morning hours.

Some workers used the day to send a message.

OUR Walmart - a coalition of current and former Wal-Mart staff seeking better wages, benefits and working conditions - targeted Black Friday for action across the country after staging protests outside stores for months.

Nine protesters were arrested on misdemeanor charges after blocking a street outside a Walmart near Los Angeles, police said. Three of those arrested were Walmart workers, OUR Walmart said.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc's U.S. discount stores, which have been open on Thanksgiving since 1988, offered some Black Friday deals at 8 p.m. on Thursday and special deals on certain electronics, such as Apple Inc iPads, at 10 p.m.

At the Macy's store in Herald Square in Manhattan, the line at the Estee Lauder counter was four deep shortly after its midnight opening. The cosmetics department's "morning specials" included free high-definition headphones with any fragrance purchase of $75 or more, and a set of six eye shadows for $10.

But for some people, cheap wasn't cheap enough - like the Macy's shopper who bought Calvin Klein shoes at 50 percent off but was still not satisfied.

"I was hoping for deeper discounts," said Melissa Glascow, 35, of Brooklyn, New York.

That could actually be an intentional strategy to help retailers' profits.

"It appears that manufacturers and retailers are making concerted efforts to drive margins, which may take some of the sales sizzle out of a traditionally big selling day/period, but should be positive to gross margins," Credit Suisse analyst Gary Balter said in a note to clients.

Lines at Best Buy stores were similar to last year but the traffic to its website was "significantly" higher, Shawn Score, head of the company's U.S. retail business, told Reuters.

source: interaksyon.com

Why Retailers Can’t Wait Until Election Day

Retailers are known to play the blame game when it comes to their sales numbers. They will point the finger at Mother Nature for being too hot or rainy, Hollywood for releasing a blockbuster and distracting shoppers and even consumers themselves for being too bargain hungry, hurting their margins. But they might have a legitimate excuse during the campaign season.

According to ShopperTrak, shopping activity decreases during a campaign cycle. During the 2004 presidential election, retailers experienced a 0.7% year-over-year decline in sales and a 2.2% drop off the week before Election Day. In 2008, foot traffic dropped off 3.7% the week before the election and 6.3% the week of the election, when compared with the same period the year before.

“As we get closer to the day, retailers will struggle to find air time between all the political aids running and get consumers’ attention,” says Bill Martin, ShopperTrack’s founder. “Consumers get bombarded and consumed with the election coverage…just look at the first debate, it brought in 60 million viewers who weren’t out shopping.”

Shoppers tend to go “on hold” during the campaign, according to Pam Danziger, president of Unity Marketing. “People are on pins and needles, everybody has a hat in the game and that shifts their primary focus to necessity buying — they are still going to need milk and gas, but they tend to put on hold shopping trips and weekend getaways until they know who is going to be elected.”

Thankfully for retailers, Martin says the pent-up demand will make up for the lost revenue. “We see it released immediately after the election no matter which party wins. Be prepared for the weekend following the election to be a big shopping day -- that will be the start of the holiday season in earnest.”

While retailers might enjoy the boon, it might be short lived. According to Steve Pruitt, founder and senior consultant of Blacks Retail, there is a pattern of down sales the year after an election. “Every year since 1950, except for two in which the economy was experiencing a recovery, there was a downturn in retail sales. I expect the rate to slow for sure in 2013 and it could go negative based on the ineptitude of the government.”

Spending Power

American Express Publishing and Harrison Group released a study this week highlighting that holiday spending will tick up 33.5% to $3.4 billion among the top 1% of earners. On the flip side, the study showed the rest of consumers planning to spend 3.4% less this season.

“When you look at raw data, retail is up 5% year-over-year, and that’s a big number, but if you look at this same time last year, it was up 7.5% from 2010, so the real question is how strong is this recovery?” says Danziger.

She points out that the middle-class's drop in income puts more pressure on the economy and  on retailers to attract wealthy shoppers. 

“The middle class has seen its income drop 4% and that is a terrible sign for retailers and the economy. The affluent ones are the ones who have the money left and can turn on and off the spigot in terms of spending, and if they feel embattled or under attack from the White House they aren’t going to spend as much. They can afford to hold out.” 

Experts agree that the election process weighs more heavily on retailers than the results — it’s  the certainty of knowing who will occupy the Oval Office that will calm fears.

“Retailers looking into future investments want to have a clear direction and if they don’t see a clear picture then they won’t do anything, they hold back, which holds back growth,” says Pruitt. “Businesses aren’t going to take risks over growth if they don’t know what is going to happen.”

Bargain-seeking shoppers worried about the election over shadowing or reducing Black Friday advertisements don’t need to fear. Black Friday has become so engrained in our society that nothing will impact the deals and the two weeks after Election Day and the shopping event is plenty of time to spread the word.

“When you think about all the people sitting around the Thanksgiving table the conversation will eventually roll around to how early people are setting out and what they are trying to get. It’s know part of the holiday,” says Martin.

source: foxbusiness.com

How to shop with your guy

Every time my friend and I go to the mall, her boyfriend would be a perfect gentleman always paying for dinner and movie tickets—yes, even mine. But, once we hit the stores, he, just like a normal guy, disappears in to actual nothingness. Showing up only after we are done with our favourite past time, or sometimes we can even find him in the car playing with his iPad.

I ask you, is there any way to shop with a guy?

The guy is obviously not afraid of the bill, just of the time he thinks we would be wasting. Think about it, he can probably have his finger sore from hitting the games, his imaginary enemy, why does he have to the legwork going round the mall?

Well, I asked some of the guys around on how they can go shopping with their girls, and they did get to spill on how it is their current dates get them to shop with them.

Be open. It is always best to tell him that you have plans of shopping, although admittedly, the urges act on impulse. Like what young Kapamilya hunk Martin del Rosario shares with a laugh, “Nood ng movie, then pag andoon na kayo sa mall, sasabihin na ‘teka, teka,’ ambush! Mapupunta na kayo sa shops.”

It would probably be best to barter on the idea of shopping, like afterwards you can watch whatever movie he chooses or eat in his favourite resto. Besides most guys do like shopping, just as Martin says, “Game naman ako doon(shopping) e, kasi gusto ko din naman yung naglalakad sa malls e.”

Ask for his opinion. Women dress up for other women. Still, you are shopping with your guy and best to make him feel involved. Consider what he has to say on clothes that you are picking out.

TV5 talent Victor Silayan shares that guys are there not only to carry your loot but to stop you from purchasing those awful high heels. “If she needs suggestions from me, go! That’s why I’m there to help her choose, that’s my role if I’m going to accompanying her.”

Who knows maybe your friends will notice that awesome dress he picked out for you.

Drop by shops he likes. If you have problems with your guy always pestering you to move quickly and make a purchase then we suggest going by some of his choice stores. It might be boutiques with comfy chairs or even stores with a men’s section, make sure that when shopping, you do stop by some of his favourite stores.

“You can take me to Uniqlo,” shares basketball hottie Chris Tiu. “There’s a guy’s section there, so while she’s taking her own time, I can do my own thing, I can do my own shopping.”

He won’t be bothering you to leave or make a purchase from the new collection as he surely is going by them as well.

Shop for him as well. So, this maybe your “me” time, but he did agree to tag along, he may be needing some stuff of his own, better to make it as a sweet gesture of appreciation to shop for him as well.

Football star James Younghusband offers some advice, “It’s good to go shopping for the guy as well. Go shopping for some guy stuff, plan out or balance out women’s shopping with men’s shopping then that’s okay.”

source: interaksyon.com

Target Rolls Out QR Codes for Holiday Shopping

The anonymity of online shopping will soon be available in real time.

Starting Oct. 14, Target will tag the top 20 toys of the season in its stores with QR Codes. Perfect, the company says, for secretive mobile shopping.

All shoppers need to do is download the Target app and scan whichever marked toy they’d like to buy. They can opt for free shipping, too.

source: mashable.com

Bought the goods? Now read Zalora’s e-zine

“Zalora E-zine is shopping made easy,” Fiona Lucas Araneta, editor in chief of newly launched E-zine announces.

The newest e-zine to hit cyber world provides a portal of ideas with fashion editorials and features for Zalora’s loyal consumers and daily unique visitors,

Each time you browse an online site—or even the racks at the malls—for new products, the first pretty thing that catches your eye would of course make you wonder if it would fit and then if it would go best with anything you own.

“When you go into a catalogue, you are overwhelmed, there are so many choices, sometimes you do not know how it would look when it is paired,” starts Fiona.

This e-zine offers online shoppers a new perspective in browsing through the products. It’s not just a heavy display of shoes or bags in different angles, colours and sizes. It shows real people wearing the trends—with accessories and sometimes doing activities.

“Let’s say you go into a catalogue and it is all shirts. You just see shirts! When you go into the Zalora E-zine, you are already seeing a fashion editorial, something put together, so it gives you an idea of how you can use the products,” she states.

What more each item that is featured in the e-zine could be bought. “Everything from the cover to the end, everything you see you can hover over. Something will pop up, and will tell you the brand, you can click on it and it redirects you to the product page,” she says. “Basically, everything you see, you can buy. Instead of just looking, you can click on it, you can buy it and it goes straight to your shopping cart.”

Fiona underscores the plus points of shopping with Zalora, “the price points are good. There are really affordable items, and the good thing is it can get delivered to you and it’s packaged. We have stuff for babies, moms, and pregnant women. There’s a whole selection and includes a sale section.”

The e-zine editor in chief was quick to add, “it’s exciting because unlike most stores, Zalora accepts returns. You can have things exchanged without even having to leave your home. Think about it, especially during Christmas, when you have to brave the mall. It’s so easy to have everything delivered to you. Plus, we have really nice packaging, so all you have to do is add a ribbon.”

Like most magazines whether online or in print, this e-zine has articles and tips, depending on the season and the theme. This July, they released the sports issue (for the first half) and the model special (for the 2^nd half). There is even an archive of past issues where readers and shoppers can freely browse.

“It’s not heavy on features and interviews, but we also have small features on different things also,” Fiona tells us. “For our sports issue, we have things like boxing wrap, sports gear, and the pieces are already edited for you so that you can see na, ‘oh, this piece is bagay pala with this, I can wear it pala with that.’

The e-zine also has different sections like Style Star that recreates celebrity looks with items from Zalora; Ask Z, which is a style and fashion advice column; What’s Hot in Zalora, which features brands found in in the site, and many more.

“We also have a column called ZMan where we featured top five trends in working out such as CrossFit and Bikram Yoga . We had our columnist go around and try those,” Fiona excitedly shares what can be found in the sports issue. “We have another section called Trending Now, it features items that you need when you work out—headset, towels and things like that.”

“We also have a section called designer profile, where we feature a designer of a brand, even if it is a designer of a men’s tie or an indie designer, basically anyone who is with Zalora. We have a short Q & A. Even in that page, you can still click on that and it gets redirected to their product page.

“It’s the first online shopping magazine at this time,” Fiona proudly says. The E-zine started in May and comes out twice a month. “You just have to visit the website ezine.zalora.com.ph, or the Zalora site, there’s a tab there. Just go in there and pick anything you want.”

“It’s so easy. Once you get in there, it’s gonna be hard to get out,” Fiona finishes.

source: interaksyon.com

ONLINE SHOPPING

EBAY Inc., once a scrappy auction site for mom and pop sellers, is enticing some of the world's largest retailers by arguing it can help them compete better against e-commerce leader Amazon.com, Inc.

EBay Chief Executive John Donahoe and other executives have been telling retailers that Amazon is their enemy, while eBay is a friend because, unlike Amazon, it holds no inventory.

Amazon buys products wholesale, stores them in inventory, and sells them to consumers at higher prices – like all retailers.

EBay says it just matches buyers and sellers.

That message is sinking in, especially among brick and mortar retailers that are losing market share to Amazon.

''As retailers look for new vehicles for growth eBay becomes a natural partner – a better partner than Amazon,'' said Sucharita Mulpuru, an e-commerce analyst at Forrester Research.

When RadioShack Corp., reported a surprise quarterly loss last month, Chief Executive Jim Gooch told analysts that the electronics retailer had set up an eBay storefront to help the company reach new customers online.

Barnes & Noble, Toys ''R'' Us, GNC Holdings, Aeropostale, and Neiman Marcus are among other big retailers that now have storefronts on eBay.

Best Buy Co., Inc., sells mobile phones and wireless plans on eBay.

On Monday, eBay said it was testing a same-day delivery service called eBay Now with Target Corp., the second-largest US retailer, and other big retailers including Macy's, Inc., Nordstrom, Inc., and Walgreen Co.

Amazon offers same-day delivery in some areas already.

The foundations of eBay Now rest on Milo, a start-up eBay acquired in late 2010 which lets merchants upload in-store inventory onto eBay's online marketplace. When shoppers search on eBay now, they see what online sellers are offering, but also which nearby physical stores carry the product.

More than 50,000 stores in the United States have uploaded inventory to eBay, via Milo, including major retailers Home Depot, Inc., Ikea, Lowe's Companies, Inc., Sears Holdings Corp., and J.C. Penney Company, Inc.

''It's simple: location, location, location,'' said Ben Schachter, an analyst at Macquarie. ''Sellers have to go to where the buyers are.''

EBay has more than 100 million active shoppers on its online marketplace, he noted.

''Retailers don't have those kinds of numbers coming to their sites and buying,'' Schachter said. ''They would love to only sell through their own site, but they have to go where the buyers are, and many are on eBay.''

Amazon has a lot more active customers – about 180 million – but some retailers steer clear still.

Barnes & Noble, which has been hammered by Amazon, has had an eBay storefront since late 2010 and mostly uses it to sell refurbished Nook gadgets. Toys and books were added in May 2011.

''EBay has been an exceptional partner, working with Barnes & Noble to effectively promote Nook to its massive user base,'' said Barnes & Noble spokeswoman Mary Ellen Keating. ''Amazon is a competitor. We don't sell on Amazon and have no plans to do so.''

Toys ''R'' Us does not sell on Amazon either. More than a decade ago, the largest toy retailer had exclusive rights to supply some toys on Amazon's website. That partnership ended in litigation and Amazon is now a leading toy retailer in its own right.

''It's the worst-kept secret in the retail industry,'' said Mulpuru. ''When you partner with Amazon, they are looking at your data, learning your business and have ambition to get into every category.''

Among the 100 largest retailers in the United States, most are choosing eBay over Amazon, according to Scot Wingo, chief executive of ChannelAdvisor, which helps merchants sell on both online marketplaces.

An Amazon spokesman declined to comment.

Amazon's marketplace for third-party sellers is growing rapidly and Wingo said that would not be happening if all retailers thought Amazon was the enemy.

The lure of Amazon's massive customer base is still powerful for many.

''We take any chance of getting new eyeballs and Amazon is just so large in the world of e-commerce,'' said Jerry Deboer, senior vice president of marketing at Jos. A. Bank, which has Amazon and eBay stores.

RadioShack also has both, and big retailers including Office Max and Sephora run Amazon stores.

Adding large sellers to eBay's marketplace helps the company in several ways.

EBay takes a cut of sales, so higher-volume sellers may help the company generate more revenue and profit.

EBay and retailers declined to discuss fees. However, eBay charges less for top sellers and negotiates individual deals with the biggest and best, according to Wingo.

EBay has struggled in the past because some of the products on its site were listed poorly or of questionable quality, and customer service from small sellers is not always what it could be. Big retailers are more likely to sell higher-quality products, categorize them more and provide better service.

DIFFERENT SHOPPERS

Retailers say eBay storefronts attract different shoppers than the ones who come to their own websites and physical stores.

EBay shoppers often search for deals, so some retailers use eBay to sell end-of-season or outlet products at lower prices.

Neiman Marcus' eBay storefront sells apparel, shoes and accessories under the Last Call brand, its outlet business.

EBay provides data to retailers to help them check if the shoppers who come to their eBay storefronts overlap with their existing customer base, according to Michael Jones, vice president of merchant development at eBay.

''By and large, people see this as a very significant incremental channel for them,'' Jones said.

In early 2010, eBay started including storefront inventory in results when shoppers searched on the website's front page.

That has helped retailers place their products in front of more consumers, according to Jo

source: mb.com.ph

Sharp to start shipping iPhone screens to Apple this month

TOKYO — Japan’s Sharp Corp. said it will start shipping screens destined for a new Apple iPhone that is widely expected to be released in October ahead of the pre-Christmas shopping season.

“Shipments will start in August,” Sharp’s new president, Takashi Okuda, said at a press briefing in Tokyo on Thursday after the company released its latest quarterly earnings.

He declined to give a more specific date for shipments beyond this month.
Apple is planning a major product launch on Sept 12, stoking speculation that the world’s most valuable technology company will announce the sale of its redesigned iPhone. Sharp, identified as a supplier by Apple last year, is one of three companies expected to build the screens for the latest Apple offering.

The other two suppliers of the panels are LG Display Co Ltd and Japan Display Inc.

Apple is equipping the next iPhone with a larger screen after Samsung Electronics unveiled its latest Galaxy smartphone with a 4.8-inch touch-screen.

Sources earlier told Reuters that the panels will be 4 inches corner to corner — 30 percent bigger than current iPhones.

Samsung last month posted a record operating profit of $5.9 billion for the quarter ended June, helped by sales of its latest handset.

The iPhone screens will also be thinner than their previous incarnations with the use of so-called in-cell panels. The new technology embeds touch sensors into the liquid crystal display, eliminating the touch-screen layer found in current iPhones.

Samsung and Apple on Tuesday faced off at the start of a high-stakes patent trial, where Apple has accused Samsung of stealing iPhone features like scrolling and multi-touch.

source: interaksyon.com

Filipino Shoppers Going Modern – Survey

More and more Filipinos are purchasing goods in modern trade channels such as supermarkets and hypermarkets throughout the country but sari-sari stores still rule, a consumer survey by Kantar Worldpanel found.

A study by Kantar Worldpanel, the world-leading provider of continuous, syndicated consumer panels and research solutions into shoppers’ purchase and usage behavior, looked at the venues where Filipino households make their fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) purchases.

It tracked 3,000 urban and rural households nationwide, predominantly from the DE market with an annual household income that is P800 billion more than the national budget

Around 17 million homes comprise the DE market with FMCG purchases amounting to P434 billion.

Almost half of Filipino shoppers (47%) still buy from the sari-sari stores.

However, the Kantar Worldpanel study, “Philippine Households’ FMCG Spending,” reveals that Filipinos are now increasingly buying more goods in supermarkets and hypermarkets where promotions and affordable packs are becoming more available.

An upward trend in the growth of channel shares has been seen in modern trade channels, increasing from 26% to 28% in the past four years, compared to other channels like grocery stores, drug stores and market stalls, which registered flat or decreasing growth.

Filipino homes are also spending more on modern trade. The average FMCG spending in modern trade channels per household has increased to Php 9,495 in 2011 from Php 9,194 in 2010 (301-pesos increase). In fact, average spending on modern trade has also steadily increased in the past four years.

Another key finding in the “Philippine Households’ FMCG Spending” study is the expansion of modern trade retailers to reach more Filipinos. These retailers have been aggressive in opening more branches outside the National Capital Region (NCR). The likes of Mercury Drug, Watsons and SM have post the highest number of branches at 700, 218 and 144, respectively. Evidenced by its number of branches nationwide, Mercury Drug enjoys a market penetration rate of 30.4%, compared to SM at 25.9% and Watsons at 4.5%.

source: mb.com.ph