EDITOR ’ S NOTE
The ephemeral yet eternal nature of flash retailing
On my recent trip to Kuala Lumpur , I planned to get my hands on some dUCk Cosmetics — a Malaysian beauty brand that ’ s creating a buzz on the Internet — and was disappointed to discover the retail store had rolled its shutters down by the time I got to the mall .
Luckily for me , the brand had a pop-up event in the same mall that I was still able to visit . The inviting pop-up space had a theme and colours that fit the branding , along with attentive and engaging sales associates ; and it offered me a comfortable ambience to browse through the products for sale . After my purchase , I was invited to play a simple game for a chance to win additional merchandise from the brand and I walked away from the pop-up a happy customer with my purchase and prize .
My experience there illustrates the nature of temporary retail set-ups that give customers a new sense of excitement for the brand and products , and grants an added edge to the shopping experience . Pop-ups also let retailers experiment and try something new at a relatively low cost , thus minimising business risks if you consider the lower rental and flexible lease duration .
This seems to be a successful recipe for F & B chain Old Chang Kee , which specialises in Singapore heritage snacks such as curry puffs . Last year , the brand brought a pop-up to Kentish Town in London — we heard they were completely sold out in four hours ! And this year in June , it opened a permanent outlet at Covent Garden to give Londoners a taste of Singapore all year round ( see page 9 ).
In this combined June / July issue , we unearth the appeal of temporal pop-up retailing , its impact on traditional bricks-and-mortar stores , and the permanence of this transient format . Retail space rental agency PopUp Angels tells us more about its role in the retail industry on page 17 .
As the world has just observed World Environment Day with the theme “ Beat Plastic Pollution ”, Retail Asia checks in with the first zero-waste store in Singapore to find out how the operators run a retail business that avoids excessive plastic packaging and reduce food waste ( page 21 ). We also highlight how companies and brands such as Zara and Nespresso are doing their part for Mother Nature ( pages 25 and 26 ).
As we cross the midway mark of 2018 , we are excited to share the 2018 Retail Asia-Pacific Top 500 ranking of retailers from 14 economies in the region across 11 retail formats . Retail Asia is proud to partner with
Euromonitor International for the 15th year to present thesee findings ( pages 39-73 ) and we hope it brings you some actionable insights on the state of our retail industry in the region .
Publisher / Editor Andrew Yeo
Deputy Editor
Muneerah Bee
Production Editor
Zuraini Ridzwan
Junior Sub-Editor Eva Meango
Senior Multimedia Designer Raymund Jaudian
Contributors
Dr Lynda Wee Brian Moore Shirish Nadkarni Tina Arceo-Dumlao Prakash Sakti Jayanthi Iyengar Eleanor Yap
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Event Manager
Phila Anne Tan
Operations Executive Jane Sim
Finance & Administration Manager Tan Hui Min
Finance & Administration Executive Astela Lee
No reproduction is permitted in whole or in part without the written consent of the publisher / editor . The views and opinions expressed or implied in this publication are those of the contributors and advertisers and do not necessarily reflect those of the publisher / the company .
Muneerah Bee
Deputy Editor
MCI ( P ) No : 024 / 06 / 2018 PPS 1116 / 12 / 2011 ( 028340 ) Printed by Markono Print Media Pte Ltd
4 Retail Asia June / July 2018