Asia news & analysis

Unilever and JD Logistics have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to pursue sustainable solutions in the supply chain. Building on existing relationship The MoU, which creates a framework to identify opportunities for innovative and sustainable growth, builds on Unilever’s existing relationship with Chinese e-commerce retailer JD.com, as both organisations have sealed a deal, back i...

Amazon has announced plans to develop brick-and-mortar ‘Digital Haats’ to help bring more small and medium businesses online. Located around major manufacturing hubs The Digital Haats will be located in Indian cities, particularly around major manufacturing hubs. These will offer services that will enable small and medium sized businesses to digitise. Services offered will include ecommerce...

7-Eleven has reached another major milestone, surpassing 70,000 stores globally. Customers at the heart Joe DePinto, 7-Eleven Inc.’s President and CEO, said, "Over 93 years we've grown from a small local ice house in Oak Cliff, Texas, to a global and iconic brand that is 70,000 stores strong […] that strength is due to a relentless focus on meeting the needs of our customers. We'll continu...

Amazon is due to roll out 10,000 electric delivery vehicles in India by 2025, in a bid to reduce the company’s carbon footprint. Over 20 cities The fully electric vehicles (EVs), which are a combination of three-wheeled rickshaws and four-wheeled vehicles, will be operating this year in over 20 cities, including Delhi NCR, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Pune, Nagpur and Coimbatore. The mo...

The Chinese State Council has identified another 24 cities for large scale cross-border ecommerce, as ecommerce trade between China and other nations is growing rapidly. Favourable policy to support growth These 24 new cities include Shijiazhuang in Hebei province, Fuzhou in Fujian province, and Yantai in Shandong province. In addition to the 35 that have previously been established, cross-...

Global Meets has opened Japan’s first fully dedicated vegan store in Taito City ward in Tokyo. Convenience and foodservice vegan format Like typical convenience stores, Vegan Store stocks a mix of Japanese and imported products. However, these are 100% plant-based and gluten, onion, alcohol and MSG free. Shoppers can find hot food and products like soft serve vegan ice-cream, vegan chees...

7-Eleven’s new initiative serves migrant workers in Singapore who wants to send money home using cash. Serving unbanked customers Customers can initiate a remittance transaction using the Pay2Home mobile app which will generate a QR-code bill for cash payment at any 7-Eleven in Singapore. "We are excited to be partnering with Pay2Home as 7-Eleven continues its journey to expand on our serv...

The health and beauty retailer has partnered with Tencent to bring customer service to a new level through innovative use of social media. Launch of round-the-clock one to one service The partnership with Tencent allows Watsons China to launch a new WeChat Work platform and Cloud Stores. The WeChat platform acts as a new communication channel that customers can add store staff as WeChat ...

Rakuten and Walmart's Seiyu are planning to open a new logistics site in Yokohama, Japan, later this year. New site to service growing online sales The new logistics site will service growing online sales from Rakuten Seiyu Netsuper. The platform recorded a 30% sales increase year-on-year between late October and end of December. High delivery and logistical costs in Japan have historica...

Masan Group plans to close hundreds of loss-making VinMart and VinMart + stores after purchasing the retail chain. Decision pending review Masan Group revealed that the performance of VinMart + was significantly better in Hanoi than in other cities. A representative from Masan said the group will shut down unprofitable stores after reviewing the performance. About ten VinMart supermarkets a...