Tag Archives: Carrefour

Carrefour in China Get the latest finance and Business news from the former Reuters chief editor Doug Young.

FINANCE: Apple Pay Buzzes China Mobile Payments Market

Bottom line: A strong reception for Apple Pay from consumers, banks and merchants bodes well for the service, which should attract a major audience among iPhone users but won’t pose a major threat to rival services from Alipay and WeChat.

Apple Pay launches in China

The launch of Apple Pay in China is buzzing through the local headlines a day after the roll-out, in a move that looks certain to shake up a stodgy industry dominated by homegrown names like Alipay. The most revealing headlines report on the rush by everyone, from consumers to banks and merchants to jump onto the Apple Pay bandwagon. That reflects the buzz that any major move by Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) can create in the world’s largest smartphone market.

Local consumers are undoubtedly pleased that Apple chose China for the Asia launch of Apple Pay, selecting their market over more traditional candidates like Japan and South Korea. China is only the fifth global market for Apple Pay, following launches in the US, Canada, Britain and Australia. The pride element at being first in Asia, combined with Apple’s existing premium image here, will draw a big majority of Chinese iPhone and iPad users to try out Apple Pay on their devices. Read Full Post…

News Digest: January 29, 2016

The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on January 29. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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  • Alibaba Group (NYSE: BABA) Announces December Quarter Results (Businesswire)
  • Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU) to Spin Off and IPO Music, Literature, iQiyi, Other Units – Reports (English article)
  • JD.com (Nasdaq: JD) Tests Drones to Speed Rural Area Deliveries (Chinese article)
  • Western Digital (NYSE: WDC) Clock Reset Shows Hurdles for Tsinghua Unigroup Sale (English article)
  • Carrefour (Paris: CA) to Expand China E-Commerce Drive with App Roll Out (Chinese article)

RETAIL: Toys ‘R’ Us China Toy Story — Real, or IPO Hype?

Bottom line: Toys “R” Us’ big China expansion plan contrasts with pull-backs and departures for many major western retailers in the tough market, and could be aimed at generating buzz in the run-up to a potential IPO.

Toys “R” Us steps up China expansion

China’s economy may be headed for a rapid slowdown that casts a chill on the retail sector, but don’t tell that to US veteran Toys “R” Us. The retailer whose name is synonymous with children and fun has disclosed it’s planning an ambitious China build-up that will see it increase its local store count by 30 percent this year, even as other major western retailers are closing shops and even leaving the difficult market.

All that leads to the question of whether Toys “R” Us really intends to open so many new stores at a time of uncertainty, or whether this China toy story is part hype with other motivations. If the latter is the case, this particular story could be designed at least partly to generate some excitement around an otherwise boring traditional retailer, as it gets set to potentially re-list in New York more than a decade after being privatized.  Read Full Post…

FINANCE: UnionPay Answers Alibaba, Tencent in Mobile — Finally

Bottom line: UnionPay’s launch of a new mobile payments service is a long-overdue answer to challenges by Alibaba and Tencent, and is somewhat late but also vital to maintaining its eroding position in China’s electronic payments market.

UnionPay rolls out mobile wallet card

After coming under growing assault over the last 2 years from the private sector, state-run behemoth UnionPay is finally fighting back by launching a mobile-based payment service to counter rival products from Internet giants Alibaba (NYSE: BABA) and Tencent (HKEx: 700). There’s no mention of either of China’s top 2 Internet companies in an announcement of the new service from UnionPay, even though Alibaba’s Alipay Wallet and Tencent’s WeChat Pay are clearly present in the subtext.

UnionPay is just the latest big state-run company to feel the heat of private sector competition, which is shaking up China’s entire financial sector that was previously dominated by big state-run companies. But UnionPay’s case is even more extreme, since the company operated a state-granted monopoly financial transactions settlement network for the first decade of its existence, similar to global systems run by credit card giants MasterCard (NYSE: MA) and Visa (NYSE: V). Read Full Post…

CONSUMER: Wal-Mart, Suntory Struggle in China; Bright Shops in NZ

Bottom line: Declining Wal-Mart China sales and Suntory’s decision to dissolve a China joint venture reflect difficulties foreign consumer names face in the fast changing market, and also challenges posed by local rivals like Bright Food.

Sales fall 6 pct at Walmart China JV stores

Two new consumer stories are shining a spotlight on the difficulties many big foreign brands are facing in China’s tough retailing market, where they compete with both homegrown giants and also smaller names that can quickly gain scale over the Internet. One story reports on falling sales at US retailing giant Wal-Mart’s (NYSE: WMT) China stores, based on rarely seen data from a local joint venture. The other reports that Japanese brewing giant Suntory (Tokyo: 2587) is putting a lid on its 3-year-old Chinese beer-making joint venture.

Meantime, a third outbound M&A story involving Shanghai-based Bright Food shines a spotlight on one of the rising local giants that is posing a growing challenge to the big western consumer names. That deal has the acquisitive Bright, which has made billion-dollar purchases in Britain and Israel, signing another smaller deal to buy half of a major New Zealand meat processor for $200 million. Bright’s agreement to buy the stake in Silver Fern Farms looks similar to WH Group’s (HKEx: 288) blockbuster deal 2 years ago that saw it purchase leading US pork producer Smithfield for nearly $5 billion. Read Full Post…

RETAIL: Carrefour Shops for Yuppies with Lifestyle Convenience Stores

Bottom line: Carrefour’s new foray into upscale, lifestyle-oriented convenience stores could stand a reasonable chance of success and breathe some new life into its struggling China business.

Carrefour expands Easy convenience store concept

After tinkering with a new convenience store concept for the last year, global retailing giant Carrefour (Paris: CA) has finally come up with a smaller-store model it likes and is planning a big expansion for its new chain of Carrefour Easy convenience shops. The move is part of Carrefour’s broader overhaul of its poorly performing China operations, which the company even considered selling at one point.

I do find this particular move somewhat contrary to industry trends, since Chinese are clearly buying more and more of their products online over popular services like Alibaba’s (Nasdaq: BABA) Tmall and JD.com (Nasdaq: JD). But that said, there will always be a place for traditional shops in the bigger retailing landscape, especially convenience stores whose main audience is usually impulse buyers looking for a quick drink, a bite to eat or just a place to quickly surf the web. Read Full Post…

News Digest: September 22, 2015

The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on September 22. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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  • Carrefour (Paris: CA) to Double China Convenience Stores by Chinese New Year (Chinese article)
  • Suning (Shenzhen: 002024) Logistics Begins Delivery Service for Tmall Supermarket (English article)
  • Xiaomi Caught in New Switcharoo Scandal for Redmi 2A Screen (Chinese article)
  • China’s Sky Solar (Nasdaq: SKYS) Soars After Signing $100 Mln Funding Pact (English article)
  • TAL Education (NYSE: XRS) to Acquire Firstleap Education (PRNewswire)

INTERNET: Walmart Sacks Yihaodian Founders Amid Slow Progress

Bottom line: Walmart’s dismissal of Yihaodian’s 2 top executives marks a major shake-up due to the unit’s disappointing performance, and could be followed by closer integration with Walmart’s own China operations.

Yihaodian in management shake-up

A major shake-up has just occurred at Walmart’s (NYSE: WMT) China e-commerce unit, reflecting its disappointing progress 3 years after the US retailing giant took control of local upstart Yihaodian. The shake-up has seen the sudden resignation of Yihaodian’s 2 founders, Yu Gang and Liu Junjun, who were also the chairman and CEO, respectively. Yihaodian confirmed the departures, and said they were announced after a high-level Walmart official came to visit the company. (Chinese article)

The reports say Walmart issued a nicely worded statement on the matter, saying “A company’s founders will naturally leave after a certain stage of development, and we wish them well”. But the fact of the matter is that Yihaodian has been quite a disappointment for Walmart, which took control of the company in 2012 and has made it the central focus of its e-commerce strategy in China. Read Full Post…

RETAIL: Lianhua Gets Lifeline Amid Supermarket Shake-Out

Bottom line: Poorly run traditional supermarkets like Lianhua are destined for extinction in the next 5-10 years as they get overtaken by the rapidly rising e-commerce names like Yihaodian and JD.com.

Tired Lianhua sells stake to Yonghui

A couple of supermarket headlines are casting a spotlight on a Chinese market that is rapidly transforming, putting pressure on traditional stores operated by domestic players like Sun Art (HKEx: 6808) and global chains like Carrefour (Paris: CA). The first headline has Shanghai-based operator Lianhua (HKEx: 980) selling a major stake of itself to smaller but more nimble rival Yonghui (Shanghai: 601933) in a $120 million deal. The second has Yihaodian becoming the first online grocer to break into an important annual industry ranking list, underscoring the rapid rise of Internet-based supermarkets. Read Full Post…

RETAIL: Carrefour Overhauls China Business

Bottom line: Carrefour’s new China strategy ends a period of uncertainty about its commitment to the market, though its move into e-commerce is long overdue and could fail due to its lateness.

Carrefour decides to stay in China

After sending a stream of mixed signals over the last 2 years about its commitment to China, global retailing giant Carrefour (Paris: CA) has finally decided it will stay in the market for now, but only after overhauling its operations. The decision will see the company do a major consolidation of its procurement centers, and also push into convenience stores and e-commerce. The signals seem to imply that the days of rapid expansion for its core chain of superstores is probably finished, with e-commerce and smaller stores likely to form the bulk of its China expansion going forward. Read Full Post…

RETAIL: Bun Seller Gubuli Tries Coffee, Carrefour Weighs Sale

Bottom line: Gubuli’s foray into the coffee business is doomed to failure, while Carrefour is likely to sell part of its China business to a local partner later this year.

Gobuli tries coffee with Gloria Jean’s

You know the China coffee market is overheated when one of the nation’s most famous names in a traditional food like steamed buns enters the market. That’s what’s happening now, with word that Gobuli Group, a restaurant chain whose name is synonymous with a popular kind of meat-filled steamed buns, is launching a coffee chain joint venture in partnership with Australia’s Retail Food Group.

While the coffee business is quickly overheating, the opposite is true for the traditional supermarket business, which has seen several major western retailers leave the market or scale back operations as they face a growing challenge from e-commerce. Now it looks like French giant Carrefour (Paris: CA) could become the next in that trend, with word that it might consider selling some or all of its China business to a local partner. Read Full Post…