NEWS
NEWS
FJ Benjamin sets up advisory board to drive its omni-channel strategy
AS part of FJ Benjamin Holdings’ strategy to broaden its marketing base by providing customers with a seamless experience that integrates the group’ s bricks-and-mortar stores and online channels, the fashion and lifestyle group recently set up an omni-channel advisory board.
The Singapore-based retailer said that the advisory board will advise FJ Benjamin’ s management on an omnichannel strategy that will strengthen links between new digital channels and the group’ s network of over 200 stores and 1,500 points of sale in Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia. Tapping data analytics and other digital tools in a fully-integrated marketing platform, it aims to foster effortless shopping experience for customers in today’ s digital economy.
Three domain experts have been appointed members of the advisory board which also includes three senior FJ Benjamin executives. They are Marcelo Wesseler, ex-CEO of SingPost e-commerce and currently managing partner of Codem. com; Jon Sugihara, head of Global Strategic Partnerships at Google; and Tito Costa, chief marketing officer at Zalora.
FJ Benjamin director of Corporate Strategy Ben Benjamin said:“ It is our pleasure to welcome Marcelo, Jon and Tito to our omni-channel advisory board. We look forward to working closely with them to harness the power of FJ Benjamin’ s platform to meaningfully impact our customers’ online-to-offline journey in the region.
He added that the company is pursuing an omni-channel strategy to harness its existing customer database in the region. This should have the twin impact of both optimising its regional network as well as growing its business volume online.”
Benjamin, who is also a member of the advisory board, added:“ We have observed the online ecosystem evolve rapidly over the past two years, including last-mile logistics, payments and mobile commerce, and feel that the time is now ripe to pursue an economically viable business model that will integrate the online ecosystem with our retail infrastructure.”
Codem. com’ s Wesseler is a global e-commerce pioneer who successfully developed e-commerce entities for companies such Hewlett-Packard, BMW and SingPost. He said:“ I am confident that FJ Benjamin’ s omnichannel strategy, leveraging their wellestablished footprint in the region and their portfolio of iconic brands, will greatly extend their market reach.”
Sugihara, who spent his career building technology companies in the US and Asia, was previously chief product officer of online supermarket operator RedMart.“ It is timely for a seasoned retail player like FJ Benjamin to build its online presence. Recent advances in technologies and logistics create an interesting opportunity to reinvent retail,” he commented.
As for Costa, he joined Zalora in 2013 to oversee a growing marketing team spanning six countries. He noted:“ FJ Benjamin’ s omni-channel strategy will be built on the idea that customers should be well served no matter where or when they want to engage with the brand. I look forward to sharing my experience and expertise with a true-blue Singapore enterprise and helping [ it ] build a platform to offer an excellent customer experience.”
FJ Benjamin has offices in Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia, and manages more than 20 brands and operates 226 stores. ra
Courts unveils Smart Home Experiential Hub
FURNITURE and home electronics retailer Courts Singapore officially unveiled the Courts Smart Home Experiential Hub last month, featuring the new Google Home and Google Home Mini.
The experiential concept area, located at the flagship Courts Megastore in Tampines, demonstrates the extensive use of Google Home devices alongside compatible products in a home setting. Consumers are able to see the voiceactivated speaker powered by the Google Assistant in action.
“ We are pleased to unveil the new COURTS Smart Home Experiential Hub and welcome our first customers who have been waiting with anticipation to be among the first to get their hands on Google Home. We believe as Singapore progresses in its Smart Nation journey, consumers increasingly seek connectivity in their everyday interactions. With the rise in popularity of voice-activated speakers coupled with affordable price-points, we believe that this year could be the year that we see smart homes taking off,” shared Ben Tan, country CEO of Courts Singapore. ra
The experiential concept area, located at the flagship Courts Megastore in Tampines, demonstrates the extensive use of Google Home devices alongside compatible products in a home setting.
Retail Asia May 2018 9