零食集团亿滋中国与电商巨擘阿里巴巴集团，在位于上海的亿滋中国总部正式签署了战略合作协议。
在签约仪式上，亿滋中国总裁马儒超（Stephen Maher）与阿里巴巴集团副总裁靖捷还共同为即将在天猫上线的「奥利奥缤纷填色装」进行了启动体验。
「奥利奥缤纷填色装」专属营销活动仅在天猫旗舰店推出，志在创造一种全新的电商购物体验。从5月开始，消费者可以挑选、填色，设计自己喜欢的外包装为收货人带来一份惊喜。
此次签署的「联合生意计划」将结合亿滋中国与阿里巴巴双方的优势和资源，为消费者提供更优质和便利的服务。两家公司将一同在电商媒体、销售平台、分销平台、和创新平台四大方面投入发展。
亿滋中国总裁马儒超强调了亿滋国际对本次战略合作的重视与期待，并表示这次合作顺应了中国向消费导向型经济转轨和大力发展电子商务的发展趋势。
阿里巴巴集团副总裁靖捷表示：「阿里巴巴集团将整合旗下的零售市场矩阵、媒体矩阵、供应链平台及云计算和大数据等资源，为亿滋中国提供商业解决方案。」
凯络中国宣布擢升朱煜嫻（Christina Chu）为北京董事总经理，向凯络中国首席执行官郑亚迪（Adil Zaim）汇报。
自2013年加入凯络担任核心客户总经理以来，朱煜嫻成功拓展了与现有客户的关系，并为凯络赢得了更多的新业务。
朱煜嫻在管理国际客户和本土客户上拥有丰富的经验，服务过联合利华、宝洁、IBM和伊利等众多知名品牌。她擅长策略性企划，并着眼客户业务，致力于为客户创造媒介价值及商业价值。
朱煜嫻在加入凯络前曾在传立媒体担任管理职务。
凯络中国首席执行官郑亚迪称：「朱煜嫻是一个善于启发团队的管理者，此次擢升实至名归，是对她工作成果的肯定。」
「她洞悉客户在媒介融合时代所面临的挑战，以及如何更好地整合服务架构来帮助客户应对这些挑战。」
朱煜嫻表示：「作为凯络中国管理团队的一份子，我感到非常自豪，凯络有着各个领域的专才，我期待和大家共同努力，为凯络创造更加辉煌的未来。」
Consumer electronics company Withings has named The Hoffman Agency its PR partner as it looks to expand its range of health-focused devices across Greater China.
Hoffman will oversee PR duties in Hong Kong and across China, with a brief to boost brand awareness and spearhead media and stakeholder engagement programs. Founded in France, Withings makes a series of IoT products in the rapidly growing area of healthcare needs.
Some of those devices include watches, alarm clocks, security cameras and a thermometer which let you track your long term health.
Lucie Broto, Withings’ brand marketing manager, said the company was looking to bring the Withings story to life.
“We were looking for a trustable partner who could leverage their expertise to assist us while we expand our footprint in Greater China," he said.
OCBC Bank’s private banking subsidiary, Bank of Singapore has entered into an agreement to acquire the Wealth and Investment Management business of Barclays Bank in the Singapore and Hong Kong.
The acquisition price agreed upon is approximately US$320 million in cash and is set to conclude at the end of the year.
With the acquisition, OCBC hopes to grow its presence in four core markets Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Greater China, particularly in its wealth management business. The move comes at a point when the number of high net worth individuals is set to rapidly grow in the APAC region.
Bahren Shaari, CEO , Bank of Singapore explained that strategically, this acquisition further broadens Bank of Singapore’s geographical footprint and client coverage “while adding scale and deepening its presence in core Asian markets, including Southeast Asia, Greater China and the Middle East, namely the Gulf Cooperation Council countries.”
“The combination of both businesses, including Barclays’ valuable franchise, will bring about attractive synergies,” he said adding that existing Barclays clients can also benefit from Bank of Singapore and OCBC Bank’s connectivity in key markets including China, Indonesia and Malaysia, in the commercial banking space.
Strengthening the Bank of Singapore brand
The acquisition will also immensely strengthen the position of Bank of Singapore to capture opportunities in the two strategic private banking hubs in Asia - Singapore and Hong Kong. The Barclays WIM Singapore and Hong Kong business alone, adds more than 1,800 clients in two of OCBC Bank’s core markets – Singapore and Greater China.
Samuel Tsien, group CEO, OCBC Bank said:
The enlarged scale and expanded client coverage that Bank of Singapore now possesses will significantly strengthen its position as Asia’s Global Private Bank, as it captures the growing wealth and serves the wealth management needs of high net worth clients in the region.
In a press statement, OCBC said Bank of Singapore has over the years been looking to grow its presence across SEA by building on its managed investments capabilities and further complementing it by wealth planning and premium advisory services. It has also built up its research team in Asia and currently has more than 50 in-house research analysts and product specialists covering over 1000 securities and 30 currencies. It also has partnerships with several independent research houses.
As part of the OCBC Group of companies, Bank of Singapore is also able to extend OCBC Bank’s commercial banking capabilities to its clients including a broad array of consumer and corporate banking, corporate finance and treasury services across the Bank’s regional and international network. Beyond private banking services, clients of Bank of Singapore also have access to personal and business banking services, as well as investment opportunities offered by OCBC Bank and its subsidiaries
Tsien added: “The acquisition of Barclays Wealth and Investment Management business in Singapore and Hong Kong further broadens our wealth management franchise, firmly establishing us as a leading wealth management player in Asia. We see attractive value in Barclays ’ strong and complementary private banking client base in Singapore and Hong Kong, as well as in its experienced and service- oriented wealth management team.”
OCBC Bank through strategic acquisitions it “has built a unique and comprehensive wealth management platform across the Bank and its subsidiaries”. This platform comprises private banking services offered by Bank of Singapore, life insurance by Great Eastern Holdings, asset management by Lion Global Investors, brokerage services by OCBC Securities, as well as other wealth management products and services offered by the Bank.
OCBC Bank’s consolidated wealth management income across its group of companies has grown steadily over the years. That income reached SG$2.35 billion in 2015, up 6% from a year ago, and amounted to 27% of the OCBC Group’s total income.
(Photo courtesy: Shutterstock)
安索帕宣布任命Cheyney Robinson为欧洲、中东、非洲（EMEA）及亚太地区首席体验官。
在加入安索帕之前，Robinson在IBM互动体验担任欧洲首席创意官。今后她将在伦敦办公，并向安索帕全球首席执行官林友琴汇报。
Robinson将负责带领并发展安索帕在EMEA及亚太地区的体验与服务设计业务，此外，Robinson还将加入安索帕全球创意卓越委员会（Global Creative Excellence Council），为进一步提升安索帕的创意产出作出贡献。
Robinson曾在SapientNitro及Razorfish担任创意总监，擅长打造前沿体验，提供多渠道支持及制定全渠道策略。Robinson曾为众多知名品牌打造创意策略互动的客户体验，客户涵盖国际时尚、奢侈品、汽车及零售领域。
林友琴表示：「对于品牌而言，想要在如今的全渠道环境中取胜的关键之一，就是将强大的品牌叙事与世界级的用户体验联结在一起。我们致力于帮助客户激发数字的无限潜力，将复杂的概念转化为专业、成熟、富有价值的用户体验。」
Robinson 表示：「我很荣幸能够作为首席体验官加入安索帕，这个非同寻常的角色能够将品牌创意和顾客体验联结在一起。安索帕终致力于创新及传递『创意无极限』的理念。」
MEC has revealed a new global content offering called MEC Wavemaker, bringing existing teams from content strategy, social, SEO and creative services under one roof.
The new unit launches initially in 10 markets with a further 20 planned for the remainder of 2016.
Mike Jackson, managing director of MEC Access in Asia, will hold the title of Asia Pacific MD for MEC Wavemaker. Jackson told Marketing that in launch markets, MEC Wavemaker will replace MEC Access from today.
"MEC Wavemaker is our new content offer and existing Access teams will now be part of this new unit," he said.
Additional teams and skills covering production, creative services, SEO and social will all be under a unified content planning approach. He added that integrating these various skill sets in one place at scale, while leveraging insights and data would be unique to the market.
Wavemaker launches with more than 50 staff in Singapore, Australia and India, with more Asia markets planned for 2016, but has aggressive expansion plans.
"Our intention is to launch in a further 20 markets in 2016 and all markets by 2017. We wanted to get our top 10 markets right first and ensure we have the right skillets, talent, tools and structure in place in every market before we launch – so a lot more news will follow."
Josh Black, CEO Content at GroupM Asia Pacific, added bringing specialist teams together across data, content and social makes complete sense from both client delivery and audience perspectives.
"Bringing it all together with social discoverability makes it seamless for clients working with us. It’s just not within MEC that we are doing this, Mindshare Content+ and Mediacom’s MBA content teams both deliver a similar, yet differentiated, approach for their clients,” Black said.
He added that client demand for premium content that engages, entertains and educates audiences, has never been stronger.
"As fragmentation, clutter, broadband penetration and mobile all increase, more and more consumers across APAC, especially in markets like India, China and Indonesia, are going to be consuming more and more short and long-form video content, and that’s why advertisers want to be there.
"Brands are getting a lot smarter about how they develop and deliver content to different platforms, channels and audiences as well. The days of producing 1 piece of creative, say a 30-second spot, and then pushing this across multiple publishers in the same format are over."
MEC is expected to launch Wavemaker in at least four more Asia markets by the end of 2016.
IPG Mediabrands China has appointed Aaron Tsoi and Lester Ng as managing director, IPG Mediabrands Beijing, and client managing partner, IPG Mediabrands China respectively.
Tsoi will oversee the business operation in the Beijing office; while Ng will be responsible to grow new business and solidify client services, especially with global client portfolio. Ng will be based in Shanghai and report to IPG Mediabrands China CEO, Tom Wan.
Tsoi has more than 20 years of experience in the media and marketing industry across Hong Kong and China. Starting his advertising career at Leo Burnett Hong Kong in 1993, he has then held various senior positions at Mindshare, Mediacom and Airmedia in Beijing. He has experiences in communication planning, media planning, media sales operation and management, serving clients like Motorola, Volkswagen, GSK/TSKF, Nokia and Oracle.
Ng is from Singapore and has been in advertising media for over 18 years; of which the last decade having worked in both Beijing and Shanghai.
His previous agencies included OMD, Starcom MediaVest where he headed the Beijing office, and ZenithOptimedia China where he was deputy managing director. Prior to joining IPG Mediabrands, Ng was with a digital technology agency where he oversaw China and Hong Kong.
Many people are more conscious about health issues nowadays. Organic food, food supplements, regular exercises are increasingly popular. These trends are even making their way into fast food restaurants.
Are Hong Kong people in favour of healthy dining? According to research firm YouGov, in a fast-paced city like Hong Kong, almost 40% of survey respondents visit fast food restaurants more than 10 times per quarter.
But almost 9 in 10 (88%) are also aware of the importance of healthy eating and say they are willing to pay more for healthier food.
The top five fast food brands in terms of consumer awareness in Hong Kong are McDonald’s (94%), KFC (88%), Café de Coral (87%), Starbucks (84%) and Fairwood (82%).
But looking at how respondents rank fast food restaurants in terms of how healthy the food is, Café de Coral is ranked top (most healthy), scoring 7.13 out of 10, followed by Subway (score 7.12) and Maxim’s MX (score 6.95).
McDonald’s comes in at a 4.29 score, but still ahead of Burger King (score 4.09), and what is perceived to be most unhealthy, KFC, which scores just 3.84. But the majority of people welcome McDonald’s idea of launching a healthier branch.
As the fast food giant has recently opened the world’s first McDonald’s Next in Hong Kong. In customer's eyes, is it just another short term gimmick, or is the next health trend to be found beyond the golden arches?
The survey finds that 64% of respondents are aware of the launch of McDonald’s Next. Among that, 79% say they are likely to visit McDonald’s Next.
For the remaining people who are not aware of the launch of McDonald’s Next, still, 72% say they are likely to visit this new restaurant. Even though the prices at McDonald’s Next are more expensive than a normal McDonald’s, the majority of respondents still want to visit because they want to try something new (47%), think the prices are still affordable (38%), and like to eat healthy in general (35%).
The survey took place in late February 2016 by conducting an online poll among 995 Hong Kong people.
To celebrate a new collaboration between Qantas and Tesla Motors, the two big names have set up a drag racing - a Tesla Model S electric car against a Qantas' Boeing 737 aircraft.
The race took place at the 3 km runway at Avalon Airport – southwest of Melbourne, Australia.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jFtJR5yhutU
In the video, the Tesla took off from the start at a cracking pace, but later the 737 narrowed the gap as it barrelled down the runway. Both travelled neck and neck as the jet reached its take-off speed of 140 knots and the electric car reached its max at around 250 kilometres an hour.
At one point Tesla takes the lead, but mere seconds later the airliner, takes off. By watching the footage it is really hard to say who the winner of the competition was.
So, apart from seeing who would win, what was the point of the race?
The promotion stunt said it aims to drive innovation for their customers and sustainability in the transport industry.
Over coming months, Qantas and Tesla will introduce new services and benefits for customers in Australia, which includes: Exclusive events for Qantas frequent flyers, enabling them to experience new Tesla vehicles and technology; Qantas Club membership for Tesla Model S owners; and Tesla high power wall connectors at Qantas valet facilities.
"Both our companies are passionate about continuing to push the boundaries of customer service, innovation and sustainability in the transport industry," said Alan Milne, head of environment and fuel at Qantas.
"We’re huge admirers of the way Tesla has transformed the electric car sector as a premium brand and we look forward to sharing our understanding and advance the work we started in 2012 on biofuels as an alternative to jet fuel."
消费电子产品公司Withings宣布任命霍夫曼公关公司作为其公关合作伙伴，以拓展其一系列健康护理电子产品在大中华区的业务。
霍夫曼将负责该公司在香港和中国内地的公关业务，以提高品牌知名度和带领媒体和持份者联系计划。Withings成立于法国，推出了一系列物联网医疗保健产品，以满足市场对医疗保健产品需求的迅速增长。
其产品包括手表、闹钟、安全摄像机、以及可以跟踪长期健康状况的温度计。
Withings品牌营销经理Lucie Broto表示，该公司正致力在现实生活之中实现Withings的品牌故事。
他说：「我们正寻找一个值得信赖的合作伙伴，通过他们的专业知识，协助我们拓展在大中华地区的足迹。」
IPG盟博广告宣布委任蔡廷彬（Aaron Tsoi）为北京办公室董事总经理、黄兆雄（Lester Ng）为客户执行合伙人。
蔡廷彬将负责监督北京办公室的整体运营，而黄兆雄将致力发展公司新业务并加强客户服务质量，尤其注重与IPG盟博广告全球客户执行者们的通力合作。黄兆雄将入驻上海办公室，并直接向盟博广告中国区首席执行官温铭辉述职。
蔡廷彬在香港和中国内地拥有超过20年的传媒和营销从业背景。其广告生涯开始于1993年，曾就职于香港的李奥贝纳广告公司，并相继在北京的传立媒体、竞立媒体和航美传媒担任各种资深职位，在沟通策划、媒介策划、媒介销售和管理方面拥有极其丰富的经验，主要服务过的客户有摩托罗拉、大众汽车、葛兰素史克/中美史克、诺基亚和Oracle软件公司。
黄兆雄来自新加坡，拥有18年以上的广告媒体从业经验。在最近10年间，他就职于北京和上海的多家广告公司。
黄兆雄曾担任浩腾媒体（OMD）和星传媒体旗下品牌精锐媒体（Starcom MediaVest）的北京办事处负责人，以及实力传播大中华区副总裁。加入IPG盟博广告前，他工作于一家数字科技代理机构，监督公司在中国内地和香港的业务运营。
Retail gloom is staring the industry in the face once again as New Look, Celio and Crate & Barrel's CB2 are set to either exit or scale back their retail presence.
Citing low sale and high costs in a statement with The Straits Times, distributor Jay Gee Melwani announced that British brand New Look and French menswear chain Celio will shut in the second half of this year. The distributor also manages other brands such as Aldo, Levi’s, Dockers, Aeropostale, Converse and health supplement chain Holland & Barrett.
Read also: Should fashion brands forget about retail altogether?
The same is happening for CB2, the sister store of American furniture and homeware brand Crate & Barrel, three years after landing in Singapore. It is shutting its two stores as of now but the management told The Straits Times it will be looking for a new shop space eventually.
Read also: Funan shutdown: Retail sector woes?
However, one retail brand is looking to make a comeback, albeit at a much smaller scale. Japanese skincare brand Fancl, is set to return to Singapore after closing all 13 stores in 2014 with one new counter at Isetan Scott in Orchard Road. Citing losses in both Singapore and Taiwanese markets in 2014, the company had announced its closure.
Nadia Lim, head of SMB, Southeast Asia at Facebook, drew a direct relationship of poor retail performance to the increased ease of shopping online and on mobile.
In a statement to Marketing, she said, “The reality is consumers can shop anytime, anywhere thanks to their mobile phone. It has opened up a world of ease for consumers, able to do tasks at a time and place that is convenient to them. And as the number of people in Southeast Asia that access the internet via their mobile device increases, the number of customers shopping via their phone is only going to grow. ”
For retailers to survive in the Singapore scene, Lim suggests using online websites or social media pages to complement offline store services and strengthen customer service offerings. She recounts a personal incident where she used Facebook messenger to check with a store on product availability, saving her two drives to the store when the size of the shoes she wanted came back in stock.
"Merging the online and offline world to create a seamless customer experience is the sweet spot businesses should be aiming to achieve, if they want to stay ahead in the modern world of retail." added Lim.
Read also: Can the retail industry pull out of the gloom and doom?
Clothing line Gap has apologised for its latest ad for the kids clothing line after several Twitter users deemed the ad “racist”.
The children’s range, which was launched in collaboration with celebrity talk show host Ellen DeGeneres, shows two white girls doing remarkable aerobic stunts while a black girl standing as an armrest for another tall white girl. The caption reads: “Meet the kids who are proving that girls can do anything.”
Take a look at what the Twitter-verse is saying:
https://twitter.com/TheTherapyDiva/status/716375045421944832
https://twitter.com/TheTherapyDiva/status/716670770890473472
https://twitter.com/hnwight87/status/717017048870686720
However, others have defended the brand saying that last year, a similar shoot was done with a black girl resting her hand on top of a smaller white girl, but no issue was then raised.
The online backlash has ultimately resulted in the brand apologising and replacing the image: “As a brand with a proud 46-year history of championing diversity and inclusivity, we appreciate the conversation that has taken place and are sorry to anyone we've offended.”
The company added the GapKids campaign was created to highlight true stories of talented girls who are celebrating creative self-expression and sharing their messages of empowerment.
“We are replacing the image with a different shot from the campaign, which encourages girls (and boys) everywhere to be themselves and feel pride in what makes them unique,” the statement read.
While with its apology Gap has undoubtedly recognised its shortcomings with this particular campaign, it begs the question of whether an apology was really necessary. Too often today, brands are quick to hide behind an invisible cloak of apology following any form of campaign criticism.
We ask several creative leads what their views are on the matter.
Fiona Bartholomeusz, managing director of creative agency Formul8 was of the view that this was done more so to nip the social media fiasco since racial issues have a way of spiraling out of control.
"I think brands are too knee-jerk reactionary now because social media ends up being a monster in the court of popular opinion. I don’t think the ad was racist, if it was reverse, I doubt if anyone would have kicked a fuss. Sometimes I think consumers take the “this is racist” card way too far," she said.
Robert Gaxiola, co-founder/creative director of manghamgaxiola mcgarrybowen – A Dentsu Aegis Network Company, added that any campaign can come under fire- especially when they are casting minority talents in the US market. He said:
With today’s social soapbox, brands should always be prepared to respond because crises can catch fire within minutes.
“Everybody has a say in the conversation and the Gap chose to respond at just the right time. The speed of the response felt right to me. They didn’t let the problem boil over while they sat back silently and hoped it would go away. What’s good here is that the Gap listened, and addressed the issue at hand directly. They were not defensive nor did they try and push the blame to somebody else,” said Gaxiola.
He added that both Ellen DeGeneres’ and Gap is nowhere near racist.
“Gap has practiced racial-diversity in its company and its advertising campaigns for years. And this could be one reason why the San Francisco based company is so sensitive to such comments. Making an apology on their part shows that they did listen and felt a need to respond appropriately,” he added.
Lara Hussein, managing director of M&C Saatchi Malaysia however added that the ad was insensitive and not thought through properly.
What were they thinking? The company should actually apologise and take responsibility for the ad that could have been expressed better.
Meanwhile, SP Lee of managing director and executive creative director of Dentsu Malaysia said perhaps the real question is what would the reaction be if the roles were reversed.
“I do not know enough to comment on the politics of colour and creed in the US. I personally do not see the ad as racist. […] Are people overly sensitive and see symbolism when none was intended? Has Gap explained why the girls were depicted so?”
Traveloka, an Indonesian tech company that provides online booking service for flights and hotels, has appointed TCP-TBWA\Indonesia as its creative partner.
According to Taufiq Wibowo, brand manager at Traveloka, the decision to select TCP-TBWA as its brand agency was based on the agency's "strong understanding of consumers, industry, and business model in the online world."
“We’re excited to partner with TCP-TBWA. The agency’s role is to challenge conventions and develop communications that will disruptive the way we engage with our customers, elevating Traveloka to the next level. Our ambition is to become the most dependable travel service in the region,” he added.
Established in 2012, Traveloka is currently one of the top travel apps on Play Store and App Store in Indonesia with more than six million downloads. Traveloka is one of Indonesia’s first start-up tech companies to successfully emerge from its shores.
Burda Singapore has appointed Lauren Tan (pictured) as editor of Prestige Singapore. She replaces Genevieve Jiang effective today, Apr 7, leaving to pursue other personal interests.
Previously the deputy editor of the magazine, Tan has been with Prestige since 2008 and has led supplementary titles such as Prestige Lifestyle, Wealth and Living.
“We are glad to announce Tan’s promotion to editor of our flagship title as she has been with us through several key stages of the magazine and has contributed greatly towards its success,” Melvin Ang, group publisher (Luxury Brands) and managing director of Southeast Asia said.
AVA has partnered with SPHMBO to target working professionals to gain their support to buy and eat local produce.
From 16 to 23 March 2016, AVA rolled out its second food truck workplace roadshows at Ocean Financial Centre, One-North (Fusionopolis) and Toa Payoh HDB Hub. At the roadshows, visitors had the opportunity to taste a flavor of local produce with specially created dishes – Ramen egg with kailan and Fishermen’s Stew – made from locally farmed produce ingredients comprising eggs, fish and vegetables.
To redeem a complimentary food sampling portion, visitors had to simply take a photo with the food truck and upload it onto their social media accounts with #loveSGproduce, #AVASGand # sglocalicious to show their support.
AVA also placed prominent adverts on pillar wraps and wall sticker at Toa Payoh HDB hub and Ocean Financial Centre respectively. These advertisements highlight the key benefits of local produce and educate them on why they should buy locally farmed produce and how they can identify them.
“AVA supports local produce and encourages consumers to support our farmers. This is especially important as in times of sudden import disruptions, local produce can serve as a buffer. During our our recent foodtruck workplace road shows, we saw many people from all ages and walks of life come by to learn more about local produce. We hope that through outreach efforts, more people will support local produce” said Joycelyn Ng - director, community outreach department, AVA.
Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group has unveiled its virtual reality (VR) interface for BluPrint, Radisson Blu’s latest design program for its interior design scheme.
Through the creation of a downloadable app and portable VR devices, the hotel group hopes to showcase what BluPrint can do. BluPrint addresses three key aspects of the guest experience – guest rooms, social, meetings and event spaces. The design program is to be implemented in new Radisson Blu hotels and resorts, and those to be refurbished.
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrKgchYCrDI[/embed]
“Carlson Rezidor is redefining the design process for investors and how travelers discover and explore our hotels. We are opening up a new world of experiential engagement, enabling a sensorial appreciation of what we have to offer,” said Thorsten Kirschke, president, Asia Pacific, Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group.
“Our focus on technology and innovation underscores our drive to stay ahead of changing guest expectations, captivate new audiences and ensure even stronger returns for owners and investors. Our technological edge will also help propel the evolution of our Radisson Blu brand, which has been built on iconic and innovative design, sophistication and style,” he added.
In Asia Pacific, Carlson Rezidor currently operates 46 Radisson Blu hotels and has 34 more under development.
There is an increasing trend in hotel groups utilising VR technology to further its objectives, with Shangri-La rolling out VR to its global sales platform late last year. This enabled travel advisors, meeting planners and potential corporate clients to virtually experience Shangri-La hotels and destinations around the world; done through immersive 360-degree videos for over a quarter of its 94 hotels and resorts.
Talent acquisition and retention have been raging issues for all industries for years, and more so when it comes to best female talent in mid to senior roles.
In a bid to attract and retain female talent, Malaysia’s teclo brand Digi has announced a fully-paid six months’ maternity leave.
Applicable from January this year, Digi said the first-of-its-kind move in Malaysia will greatly impact women in the company as it endeavours to boost women in leadership roles.
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Currently 45% of its employees are women, with strong female representation in its leadership, including at senior management and board levels. This, says Digi, exceeds the government’s target of 30% women participation in boards of public listed companies.
“We are extremely proud to institute the new global six-month standard maternity leave here in Malaysia. It is our goal to attract and retain the best talent, male or female, and we are confident that the revised maternity leave policy will make Digi not only a very attractive place to work, but also a place where women can build careers, continue to fill the ranks of our leadership and play a key role in supporting their families,” CEO Albern Murty said in a statement to local media.
“Diversity is the aim of many organisations, but it is in inclusivity that the real difference is made. We are committed to continue building an organisation that better reflects the world we live in,” he added.
The move has been lauded by the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam). Chairman Tan Sri Hasmy Agam, in local media said the commission viewed this positive step, which aims to achieve gender balance at the workplace, as not only recognising women’s participation in the labour market but was also in line with the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights in terms of corporate responsibility.
"The commission also commends this positive and voluntary step that will raise the benchmark in terms of human rights protections by the private sector, as well as stimulate wider policy and legal reform at the Government level,” he said in a statement.
H&M has appointed ZenithOptimedia as the new media agency partner, following a pitch.
ZenithOptimedia will be responsible for planning and buying across all media for H&M in Singapore and Malaysia. H&M previously worked with OMD in Singapore and UM in Malaysia.
“We are extremely delighted and honored by this appointment. This is a testament to our strategic paid, owned and earned approach which continues to be a winning formula, coupled with the ability to bring fresh perspectives & ideas to the table,” Helen Lee, managing director, Zenith Singapore said.
Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba said that it has officially become the world's largest retail platform, with its total trading volume online in the fiscal year ending in March 2016 surpassing Walmart's annual sales.
Alibaba has yet to announce the financial results for the last quarter of its fiscal year ending on 31 March, but in the statement to the US Securities and Exchange Commission makes it clear the company has outpaced Walmart that posted revenues of US$482.1 billion in the latest fiscal year.
The company also said the record-breaking GMV shows that the world's largest retail marketplace has shifted from offline to online. "We used 13 years to demonstrate the power of a different business model compared with brick-and-mortar retailers."
According to Alibaba, its online trading volume accounted for 10% of the overall retail volume in China and it directly generated 15 million jobs.
The comapny has already set a goal to achieve an annual trading volume of 6 trillion yuan by 2020 and help 90% of its retailers increase their operational efficiency.
"In 2024, we want to be a business platform serving 2 billion consumers and tens of millions of enterprises at home and abroad," Zhang Yong, chief executive officer of Alibaba, said a recent press event.
The company will strive to combine cloud computing and big data technologies with the internet and the Internet of Things, as well as consumer terminal equipment, to spur its development, Zhang said.
