Tag: Hong Kong

Hong Kong – AS Watson Group has announced the appointment of Freda Ng as the managing director of PARKnSHOP for Hong Kong and Macau, succeeding Norman Yum who has made the decision to retire and will be appointed as business advisor. 

Ng joined AS Watson Group (ASW) in 2010 in a business planning role, and joined PARKnSHOP as chief operating officer in 2023. Prior to her appointment in PARKnSHOP, she was the chief digital officer of Watsons International and the chief customer and digital officer of Watsons Hong Kong.

Looking ahead, as the managing director of PARKnSHOP, Ng will continue to build upon the strong business foundation and deliver a seamless shopping experience to the customers in the supermarket’s portfolio of nearly 260 O+O stores. 

Dominic Lai, group managing director of AS Watson Group, commented, “Freda has been a valuable member of AS Watson for 14 years, excelling in various roles in business planning, customer experience, digital innovation and development. We’re very confident that Freda will lead PARKnSHOP in continuing the journey of transformation and take the business to new heights.”

He added, “I would like to express heartfelt gratitude to Norman for his dedicated service in PARKnSHOP. During his tenure, PARKnSHOP successfully launched its online business and built the O+O (Offline plus Online) platform model, expanding its customer reach and adapting to the evolving digital landscape. We would like to extend our appreciation to Norman for his unwavering dedication and outstanding leadership and wish him a fulfilling retirement.” 

Guangzhou, China – Automotive manufacturer GAC AION has expanded into Hong Kong, opening its first showroom in Hong Kong and marking the brand’s official entry into the market.

The brand launch event in Kowloon Bay featured the introduction of new energy vehicles and highlighted GAC AION’s technological achievements, with GAC’s initiatives to promote the use of electric vehicles(EVs) in Hong Kong. 

During the opening ceremony, Wei Haigang, general manager of GAC International, expressed the company’s commitment to providing the best technology and models to Hong Kong consumers. On the other hand, Gu Huinan, general manager of GAC AION, introduced the company’s development history, core technological innovations, then emphasised the importance of Hong Kong as a crucial point in their global strategy.

These efforts that lean into EV usage are in line with Hong Kong actively undertaking diverse measures for decarbonization and there is a steady rise in new energy vehicle purchases. 

With this in mind, GAC AION plans to open six showrooms within the year, offering competitive products and services to meet the rising demand. Additionally, the company will invest in 1000V ultra-fast charging stations to combat charging infrastructure shortages, targeting 300 public charging stations by 2028.

The Hong Kong market serves as an integral part of GAC Group’s global layout. Using it as a starting point, GAC AION’s plan would be to expedite the overseas layout of new energy vehicles, advance GAC Group’s internationalisation process, and contribute to the realisation of the “Trillion GAC” blueprint. Simultaneously, GAC AION is committed to driving the worldwide growth of the new energy industry.

Hong Kong – Hotel operations and management company Miramar Group has recently tapped SAP Emarsys in order to support the groups’ objective of elevating its customer experience operations by harmonising customer data from diverse business units.

To support its multi-faceted operations, Miramar Group has embarked on a company-wide digital transformation by unifying multiple IT systems and enhancing data analysis capabilities with more structured data. 

With SAP Emarsys, the group integrates customer data from various business units and leverages segmented data to streamline different stages in the customer journey, such as reservations and online shopping.

Going forward, Miramar Group plans to leverage SAP Emarsys’s ‘Smart Insights,’ utilising its inherent AI modelling and machine learning, to develop an in-depth understanding of the customer lifecycle. The solution will facilitate the group to define customers into five distinct groups namely lead, first-time buyer, active customer, defecting customer and inactive customer so that the group can deliver highly personalised content to the customer accordingly.

Mabel Ho, senior marketing manager for digital marketing at Miramar Group, said, “A comprehensive and detailed understanding of our customers underlies the foundation of our customer experience operations and in many ways contributes to our business success. Personalization is essentially data-driven.”

She added, “By taking steps to better understand our customers, we can deliver tailor-made messages and the right product offerings. SAP Emarsys equips us with a data-driven landscape to enhance connections with customers through emails, paving the way towards a more enriching customer experience.”

Meanwhile, Esmond Tong, managing director of SAP Hong Kong, commented, “In response to the fast-paced changes in the marketplace, global brands are engaging customers on their own terms – supporting their journey and ensuring a positive experience. By leveraging SAP Emarsys, the Miramar Group and other future-proven companies are building up customer engagement across all channels and ensuring excellent experiences.”

Hong Kong – The South China Morning Post (SCMP) has announced it has rebranded its SCMP Events to SCMP Live as it initiates a new phase of business transformation in its events division.

SCMP Live is set to deliver fewer but larger-scale events that are more impactful and more aligned with the organisation’s top-of-mind news events. However, the China Conference, Family Business Summit, and Redefining Hong Kong series will remain its flagship events in 2024.

Additionally, SCMP Live’s custom events, which are produced on behalf of its partners, will leverage SCMP’s brand to convene the right target audiences and curate the most relevant programmes and speakers to drive meaningful connection, high engagement, and consideration.

Catherine So, chief executive officer of SCMP, said, “For 120 years, our readers have placed their trust in SCMP to help them make sense of the news events across Hong Kong, Greater China, and Asia. Through SCMP Live premium event experiences, we ignite our readers’ journey from informed to empowered, enabling them to dive deeper, connect with opinion leaders, and shape industry conversations—all LIVE.” 

She continued, “The way our audience engages with our events is constantly evolving. As such, our events division has transformed to anticipate and adapt to our audience’s needs and expectations. The rebrand to ‘SCMP Live’ marks this transformation.”

Kevin Huang, chief operating officer of SCMP, also commented, “There has been tremendous growth in our Events division this past year. In the current fiscal year, we’ve already seen high double-digit revenue growth YOY. With the rebrand and transformation to SCMP Live, we hope to turbocharge our events capability to further build out the depth and breadth of our events portfolio and to help many more of our partners bring their event vision to life in the most impactful way that supports their business priorities.”

Hong Kong – Retail sales in Hong Kong back in November 2023 have by $34.2b, marking a 15.9% increase compared to the same month in 2022, and for the first 11 months of 2023 taken together, it was provisionally estimated that the value of total retail sales increased by 17.1% compared with the same period in 2022. This is according to the latest data released by the Census and Statistics Department (C&SD) of Hong Kong.

According to the data, of the total retail sales value in November 2023, online sales accounted for 9.3%. The value of online retail sales in that month, provisionally estimated at $3.2b, decreased by 16.1% compared with the same month in 2022. The revised estimate of online retail sales in October 2023 increased by 9.0% compared with a year earlier.

Moreover, the provisional estimate of the volume of total retail sales in November 2023 increased by 12.4% compared with a year earlier. The revised estimate of the volume of total retail sales in October 2023 increased by 2.9% compared with a year earlier.

It is also worth noting that jewellery, watches and clocks, and valuable gifts rank the most in the value of sales, amounting to around 60.8%. This was followed by consumer goods not elsewhere classified (29.0%); wearing apparel (54.1%); commodities in department stores (15.0%); food, alcoholic drinks and tobacco (6.3%); medicines and cosmetics (38.7%); footwear, allied products and other clothing accessories (24.4%); Chinese drugs and herbs (33.7%); books, newspapers, stationery and gifts (11.1%); and optical shops (17.8%).

A government spokesman said that the value of total retail sales increased visibly in November over a year earlier alongside the revival of inbound tourism.

Looking ahead, the spokesman added that an expected further recovery of inbound tourism should continue to benefit the retail sector. Continued improvement in household income, as well as various promotional campaigns and activities launched by the Government and the industry should also provide support.

Hong Kong – McDonald’s Hong Kong has ‘secretly’ partnered with creative agency DDB Group Hong Kong for the launch of its newest ‘#SNEAKJOY’ campaign that gives travellers a chance to enjoy the joy of sneaking.

The social campaign is largely based on the shared experiences of travellers who find some joy in sneaking their favourite food into unexpected places like aeroplanes.

Partnering up with Hong Kong International Airport, the first 1,000 people who show their boarding pass at the airport McDonald’s will receive a free apple pie that they can sneakily enjoy on the aeroplane.

As part of the special promotion, customers will have the opportunity to be rewarded with free Chicken McNuggets on their return to Hong Kong. They just have to share on social media their creative takes of their sneaky flight experience with the hashtag #SNEAKJOY and tag McDonald’s Hong Kong Instagram account.

The campaign will only run for three weeks, or until supplies last.

Tina Chao, chief marketing and digital customer experience officer at McDonald’s Hong Kong, said, “This campaign really celebrates the joy of having McDonald’s in unexpected places. Joy is a key value of our brand, and this is a playful way to showcase that we want to enable our customers to experience this emotion anytime and anywhere.”

Also speaking on the campaign, Andreas Krasser, CEO at DDB Group Hong Kong, commented, “This campaign is special because it taps into and amplifies an existing behaviour; it was of sorts already co-created with customers. We hope it will bring a lot of joy, as well as entertainment, to even more people along the way.”

Hong Kong – The South China Morning Post (SCMP) announced the hiring of two senior executives for its advertising division. This decision is based on significant, double-digit year-over-year growth in advertising income, allowing companies to engage with the publication’s 35 million global audience. 

Lee Williamson will be based in Hong Kong as the Post’s executive director of Specialist Publications (SP). In this role, he will direct the Post’s Lifestyle Content Division and oversee the expansion of publications such as Style, 100 Top Tables, and XXIV.

He has experience in media executive and content strategist, Lee Williamson recently joined the Post after leaving Tatler Asia. Williamson offers his expertise from his position as founding editor and regional head of Tatler Gen.T, a community-focused content platform for young leaders in Asia.

Celine Asril has been appointed as the strategy director of Morning Studio (MS) at the SCMP, which is another significant appointment. In order to showcase MS’ creative marketing solutions, she works with the business team and leads the ideation hub. 

Asril has returned to the Post after working at FINN Partners in Singapore. She formerly worked as a content strategist at Morning Studio and TBWA. Asril will keep her headquarters in Singapore.

Speaking about his appointment, Williamson said, “I am thrilled to be joining the SCMP to lead its Lifestyle Content Division. My first priority is to build community and deeper engagement with the Post’s global audience around our lifestyle content. I see a lot of opportunities to elevate our portfolio of offerings and curate content informed by our audience’s preferences and needs.” 

Meanwhile, Kevin Huang, chief operating officer at the SCMP, said, “With Lee’s strong track record in journalism and community building and Celine’s deep expertise in content development and execution, I am confident they will bring fresh, innovative approaches to meet our affluent audience’s evolving needs and maximise ROI for our partners and brands.”

Speaking on her return, Asril expressed, “I cannot be more excited to return to the SCMP. I hope to leverage my broad experience working with multi-sector brands to help raise the bar for Morning Studio through data-driven, multi-platform strategies, building on the Post’s 120 years of brand equity.” 

Hong Kong – Chinese catering group Fulum Group Holdings has entered into a strategic cooperation agreement with Sunpark Holdings, an F&B corporation in Japan, to further expand its diversified F&B offerings.

In this new partnership, Fulum Group will introduce multiple of Sunpark’s F&B brands into the Hong Kong food scene. These brands are ‘Takagi Coffee’ that provides specialty coffee and pancakes; ‘Karubi Kazan’ that offers handcrafted barbeque meat rice bowls; and ‘Hachikian’ that specialises in chicken dishes.

The restaurants will be located in the city centre with high foot traffic to attract the younger generation.

With Sunpark already eyeing Hong Kong as its next destination for expansion, its partnership with Fulum will materialise this plan. Meanwhile, Fulum’s cooperation with Sunpark is expected to further diversify the group’s restaurant portfolio.

This strategic agreement is the result of an initiative organised by the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office (Tokyo) and InvestHK. The Hong Kong F&B Mission aims to business match and network the F&B corporations in Hong Kong and Japan.

Samuel Yeung, CEO of the Fulum Group, said, “Hong Kong people have always favoured Japanese cuisine. Sunpark offers various specialty F&B brands and has decades of experience and insights of the industry, which is what Fulum is trying to achieve with our diversified restaurant mix. We are very excited about this strategic cooperation. Looking forward, we will continue to closely monitor latest trends and hope to introduce more of Sunpark’s brands in hopes of offering even more gourmet options in Hong Kong.

Ken Takagi, CEO of Sunpark, also shared, “Sunpark is committed to bring quality Japanese food at highest level of hospitality from Japan to the world, one store at a time. We are honoured to partner with a strong partner like Fulum Group. This cements our relationship as family.”

Meanwhile, Leo Tze, acting principal Hong Kong economic and trade representative for Tokyo, commented, “Today I am happy to witness the signing of the first deal resulting from this mission, namely this partnership agreement between Sunpark and Fulum. I wish them every success in their business in Hong Kong. I believe this would be the good start and hope to hear more good news amid ongoing partnership discussion of the participant companies.”

Also speaking on the partnership, Alpha Lau, director-general of investment promotion at Invest Hong Kong, said, “When foreign and local players work together, in a strategic partnership like that of Fulum and Sunpark, I believe the synergy will only mean even more opportunities and growth potential for both sides. This partnership is the result of our collaborated programme with colleagues at Tokyo ETO. Going forward, Invest Hong Kong will continue to work with ETOs around the world to assist more Mainland and foreign companies to set up their base in Hong Kong.”

Hong Kong – To showcase the benefits of California-grown citrus amongst Hong Kongers, Sunkist has turned to traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) teachings to showcase its benefits to the locals, amidst a growing number of people moving towards traditional health methods to balance their ‘qi’ (translated as ‘vital’) energy.

To do this, Sunkist has worked with Edelman Hong Kong to look into the opportunities of how citrus can help with their wellbeing, while preserving some of the region’s oldest TCM recipes. 

In this unexpected move away from the familiar stories of Vitamin C, the brand has created the Sunkist Citric Essence, a qi balancing formula, and launched a platform for people to share and preserve their own unique recipes, thereby educating Hong Kongers on the health benefits of the Sunkist Navel orange in the world of TCM.

Sunkist has also enlisted local Chinese Medicine practitioner Dr. Winson Poon, Master of Chinese Medicine from the Chinese University of Hong Kong, to develop this new elixir. 

Said concoction has been designed to battle a modern-day issue in Hong Kong: the ‘seasonal slump’, a weariness and lowering of energy caused by the city’s humidity and constant changes in pressure and temperature, as people move between the airconditioned indoors and the warm outdoors. The TCM-formula was released online as an open recipe for anyone to easily recreate and start enjoying the benefits of California-grown citrus at home.

John Koay, regional executive creative director at Edelman, said, “As we partner with Sunkist to celebrate its 130th anniversary, we are taking inspiration from generations-old traditional Chinese herbology and adding a California-grown orange twist to it – maximising the flavorful experience and health benefits our citrus brings to the table.”

He added, “We hope this modern formula gives consumers a new reason to explore the benefits of Traditional Chinese Therapy and the benefits of Sunkist’s California-grown citrus.”

Meanwhile, Dr. Poon commented, “Wellness is a big trend in Hong Kong, and Traditional Chinese Herbology should be at the center of this. Applying our ancient profession to more modern needs is a way to keep our profession relevant to young Hong Kongers.”

He added, “Oranges, when paired with the right ingredients, can regulate qi-flow to remove dampness from the body and aid digestion. Inspired by traditional folk wisdom and modernised Chinese medicinal knowledge, we are reimagining the California-grown orange, unlocking its full benefits for Hong Kongers to combat the hustle and bustle of the city.”

Taiwan – Global marketing and advertising agency dentsu has announced the establishment of a new ‘Greater North’ cluster that brings Mainland China and three of the regions in Asia into one structure, with a new leadership team and Jennifer Tang to spearhead as the CEO. 

The new Greater North cluster will merge dentsu’s markets in Mainland China, Hong Kong, Korea, and Taiwan to form one management structure.

With the new cluster, dentsu also announced the appointment of its visionary team of leaders from the agency’s respective markets who are expected to drive success and growth for the new cluster.

Tang, who is currently serving as dentsu Taiwan’s CEO, will take the helm as Greater North’s CEO. She is recognised for her transformative management approach, transforming the Taiwan business with her six-year visionary journey and making it among the strongest in the APAC region. 

She is known for her unwavering focus on integration, innovation, data, and technology, which enabled dentsu Taiwan to capitalise on high growth opportunities by expertly predicting and navigating the changing expectations of consumers and delivering competitive advantage for brands in the market.

Together with Tang, Joshua Wong from dentsu Taiwan will serve as the new cluster’s CFO. He is an innovative and strategic leader who brings a critical commercial lens to investments and operations. Having worked with Tang, he was part of Taiwan’s transformation journey to deliver some of the strongest results in the group.

Chu Yin Mak will remain as dentsu China’s CEO and dentsu APAC’s executive committee member. With 25 years of career experience, his mastery of the varied imaginative value delivery, technology, data, and ecosystem landscape, along with his ability to identify and take action on significant growth opportunities from evolving market conditions, is expected to bring a significant advantage to the group.

Also working with the new group is Simone Tam, who is now appointed CEO for the Greater Bay Area. Tam has been overseeing both Dentsu Creative and dentsu Hong Kong as CEO since 2021 and has been growing both over the course of her career. 

In her new role, she will capitalise on the huge potential of the Greater Bay Area, overseeing a geo-centric business unit comprising the hyper-growth territories of Hong Kong, the Guangdong Province, and Macao as the new CEO. 

Lastly, Donna Kim, dentsu Korea’s CEO, will also join the Greater North cluster’s leadership team. With 30 years of experience building successful domestic enterprises for large global MarComms businesses, she is expected to further drive growth for the group. Her deep level of industry knowledge and thorough understanding of building brands in and out of Korea bring a strong media perspective to the fore. 

Rob Gilby, CEO APAC at dentsu said, “Jennifer is a vocal advocate of co-creation and collaboration, and together with her leadership team will deliver new untapped growth opportunities for both our clients and our business. Bringing together these markets into one management structure with an integrated cluster strategy will enable each leader to spearhead an agenda that benefits all markets, delivering new innovation and client opportunities, improved speed to market, greater autonomy to deliver solutions, and economies of scale aligned to market needs.”

He added, “Jennifer needs no introduction; she has won a number of accolades for her own leadership and the culture she has overseen in the Taiwan business, while her teams have been recognised on the global stage, from Cannes Lions to Spikes, Clios, Madstars, and RECMA. She is a passionate advocate of B2B2S and dentsu’s impact on the communities it’s a part of, living the values that are fundamental to the way we do business.” 

Commenting on her appointment, Tang shared, “We’ve been given a significant opportunity to drive unprecedented scale and build our business around our clients and their needs, which is unique to dentsu and our model in market. The formation of this cluster ultimately drives greater opportunity for our clients, giving them frictionless access to a collaborative community of experts across marketing, consulting, and technology.”

“I am excited to work with the exceptional leaders in Joshua, Chun, Simone, and Donna, who bring significant expertise across a range of specialisms. Together we will drive new growth for brands and opportunities for our people by delivering new services and solutions that tackle our clients’ greatest challenges, fueling our growth and broadening the horizons for professional development within our teams,” she added.