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Who’s Winning Philippines’ E-commerce Arena: Local or International Players?

By
Tan Heng Hong
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Lazada leads Philippines’ top e-commerce while majority are local players.

  • Lazada is the leading e-commerce in the country,  with a monthly average of 60 million website traffic followed by Zalora, Shopee and Ebay.
  • 40 out of the 48 top e-commerce are of local players. Beauty MNL, is the most visited local e-commerce on the list and also one of the youngest on the top 10.
  • 43 out of the 48 top e-commerce have higher facebook followers and less monthly average website traffic indicating social commerce as apparent trend in growing online business in the Philippines.

Companies from small and medium enterprises (SME) to giant corporations are shifting to e-commerce to broaden their consumer base despite Philippines’ “mall culture”.  The Philippine e-commerce has the lowest retail e-commerce sales share against SEA markets but shows potential with its growing internet and smartphone penetration, rising middle class and young population. According to Google-Tesmark Holdings joint research, Philippines’ e-commerce market share will reach 9.7 Billion- 11.05% of SEA projected digital economy in 2025.

As Philippine retail industry continue to harness the power of e-commerce, iPrice Group mapped Philippines’ top retail e-commerce online reach by analyzing website traffic through SimilarWeb, Google application downloads and their respective Facebook, Twitter and Instagram followers. Our analysis showed that 83 percent of the top 48 e-commerce are local players while 89 percent have more Facebook followers and less website traffic. Overall, Lazada is the country’s leading retail e-commerce in terms of website traffic followed by Zalora, Shopee, eBay while BeautyMNL tops local e-commerce.

Philippines’ Most Popular Retail E-commerce

According to SimilarWeb’s Q2 average monthly traffic, Lazada is the country’s most visited e-commerce and by far the only retail e-commerce to amass more than 60 million monthly average visitors, surpassing Zalora, Shopee, and eBay with at most 30-fold lead. Despite the entry of Amazon in SEA through Singapore last July, Alibaba-backed Lazada remains confident for its market-specific knowledge in the region.

In the Philippine markets, Lazada’s strategy will remain to solidify its brand, assortment of products and logistics infrastructure, says Inanc Balci, Lazada Philippines CEO. Last October 11, Taobao Collection, run live in Lazada Philippines following its launch in Indonesia (which will be available in Thailand by November), offering the diverse inventory of Alibaba Group.

The Philippines two largest retail conglomerates Ayala Group and JG Summit acquired Zalora Philippines and Shopee Philippines, the second and third most visited e-commerce sites on the list. Ayala Group owner of Ayala Malls holds a controlling stake of 49-percent in Zalora Philippines, paving Ayala Malls’ partner stores leverage to e-commerce through Zalora platform. Zalora on the other hand, gained an access to Ayala’s technology for digital payments through Globe GCash.

Meanwhile, the Gokongwei-led conglomerate, JG Summit acquired a significant stake in Shopee Philippines, a Singapore-based e-commerce. Majority of Shopee’s recent fundings will be leveraged in the growth of its e-commerce platform especially for its key markets. Established in 2015, Shopee is the youngest e-commerce on the list but amassed over two million sellers across SEA due to its free product listing and shipping. Shopee is the fourth most downloaded application on the list for its peer to peer key feature. In terms of application downloads, Ebay leads the top e-commerce list with a whopping 500 million users.

Established in 2014, Beauty MNL is the most visited youngest local e-commerce in the top 10. Unlike its competition Sephora, Beauty MNL has its own beauty and skincare magazine called Bloom, which publishes localized content daily. According to the Digital Marketing Philippines, the most effective channels in digital marketing are social media ads, social media and content marketing. “Companies and brands who want to succeed in social media marketing should understand that one of its critical component is content”, says Shayne Garcia, Managing Director of iProspect.

Less Monthly Visits, More Facebook Followers

While website traffic is the key determining factor in the top retail e-commerce list, social media also played a crucial factor in the growth of the country’s top e-commerce as 18 percent of the 40 local players initially started on Facebook and Instagram. Social commerce or sales driven by social media is expected to increase in SEA over the coming years despite that it is only 30% of the total online sales in 2016.

The top five e-commerce on the list: Lazada, Zalora, Shopee, Ebay and Beauty Manila have a million-monthly average traffic each while Goods, Galleon, Takatack, Sephora and Kimstore, only have around 200,000 to 300,000 monthly average traffic. However, in terms of Facebook followers the local players in the top 10: Goods, Galleon, Takatack and Kimstore, have more than a million followers on Facebook.

43 out of the top 48 e-commerce on the list have more Facebook followers and less website traffic; only five e-commerce (Lazada, Ebay, Beauty MNL, Galleon and Easy Shop), have more monthly visits. Even Melissa Philippines, in 39th place in terms of website traffic (less than 10,000), placed third on Facebook behind Lazada and Zalora with almost 6 million followers. Similarly, Eazy Fashion reached a million of followers despite its low traffic (less than 95,000).

According to wearedigital.com, Facebook Messenger recently doubled its active users taking over Viber Philippines as Philippines’ top messenger app. Facebook Messenger app is widely used for business transactions in the country, easing engagement between businesses and consumers. Due to its demand for businesses, PayMaya and GCash, two of the country’s top mobile money service providers teamed up with Facebook Messenger to launch payment option in its application which would cater to remittances, payment bills and mobile data purchasing.

Fashion Brands Are The Most Popular In Instagram

Apartment Eight Clothing and Sunnies Studios are the top 2 most followed e-commerce shopping on Instagram, both actively co-brands their label with celebrity endorsements which easily becomes an instant hit on Instagram.

According to Apartment Eight Clothing’s founder Sheira Lim, social media is the most effective fashion marketing tool for its brand, “Our customers already know what they want to buy because they see it in our Instagram page and they already have ideas how to wear a piece based on what they’ve seen. In fashion, marketing and social media is all about communicating visuals in the most effective way.”

Meanwhile, Sunnies Studios owned by celebrity and entrepreneur: Georgina Wilson, Martime Cajucom, Bea Soriano Dee and Erik Dee has a product-centric marketing approach on their social media accounts. Sunnies studios has three different pages on all their Instagram, Facebook and Twitter accounts. Studios Sunnies showcases their fashion eyewear and other retail clothing while Specs Sunnies showcases their prescription eyewear. Metro Sunnies, on the other hand, features their followers’ photos wearing their label making it their most followed Instagram and Facebook pages.

For international players, Lazada and Shoppe are the third and fourth most followed e-commerce on Instagram. Most of the 21-fashion e-commerce on the list (including Lazada and Shopee) carries brand less fashion items from their independent merchants. The regard for brand less culture in online shopping suggests that social class E still represents a bigger market for low cost apparel despite the growing population of high income earners in the country.

Social Media an Integral Part of E-commerce

Lazada consistently topped the e-commerce both for website traffic and social media followers. According to Lazada Philippines’ CEO Inanc Balci, they are utilizing social media platforms as a strategy for retail innovation. Lazada’s Instagram strategy directly connects their merchants’ Instagram accounts to their website, which would automatically sync all their merchants’ products to Lazada’s website. Similarly, Lazada is implementing the same strategy on Facebook.

On the other hand, seven (Sunnies Studios, Apartment Eight Clothing, Melissa Philippines, The Lifestyle Store, Sunday Dress, Zeus, Dress PH, and Little Emily Shop) out of the 22 fashion local players started out not having their website- only utilizing Facebook and Instagram. In 2011, Multiply, was the most popular social media platform for independent merchants to leverage their products online at zero cost. Since then, the behavior of the Philippine e-commerce leaned towards social media integration. To date, the popularity of Facebook and Instagram is an opportunity marketplace for e-commerce and independent merchants alike especially that Filipinos are the number one who spent time on media.

About iPrice Group

iPrice Group is operating as a one-stop shop e-commerce aggregator across 7 markets in Southeast and East Asia with key feature in price comparison. It’s meta-search feature collates e-commerce products: home and living, cosmetics, grooming, fashion and electronics while its key feature in price comparison specifically caters to electronics.

11street Kicks Off Year-End Campaign to Drive Sustainable Business Growth with Stronger Product Variety

By
Tan Heng Hong
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It’s all smiles as the balloon pops, signifying the beginning of the ‘Shocking? YES!’ campaign on 11street
  • Total order volume for global products has grown remarkably by double this year as compared to 2016
  • 11street expects 50% increase in gross merchandising value (GMV) and cross border trading order during the campaign period

KUALA LUMPUR, 23 October 2017 – The competitive fray of e-commerce has led to increased competition in the e-commerce industry in Malaysia, suggesting that growth is imminent for local operators[1]. With that, 11street – Malaysia’s number 2 online marketplace – is driving initiatives to accelerate its business growth by introducing a plethora of local and international products to contribute to Malaysia’s e-commerce industry.

Chuljin Yoon, Chief Operating Officer of 11street shared: “With the rapid digitalisation of economies, we are looking at a world of connected businesses. China, Japan, Korea and USA top the chart for active e-commerce penetration, so no doubt the Southeast Asian countries including Malaysia are a melting pot of opportunities for the e-commerce boom to take place.

“As an online marketplace, 11street serves the role in providing consumers with the convenience of online shopping and a greater product variety at competitive price, locally and internationally, while growing the local e-commerce market.”

Yoon also pointed out that since 2016, cross-border trading (CBT) in Malaysia has been experiencing exponential growth. For 11street Malaysia alone, the total order volume for global products has grown remarkably by double this year as compared to 2016. The most popular countries whose products are most sought after were China, Japan, Korea and USA. Worth mentioning, the total order for China products grew by 9 times this year with more than 70% purchase under the home improvement and personal care range of products.

Global products of the highest demand were items such as car camera, cosmetic make-up bag, travel bag and electronic gadgets, so with this information and through their market insights, 11street is en route to execute campaigns that benefits consumers with a wider product variety, yet continues to boost the growth of e-commerce in Malaysia.

Meeting local demands with the ‘Shocking? YES!’ Campaign

Onwards through a past 11street survey, shoppers have revealed that price plays a key factor when it comes to online shopping; the other factor includes product abundance for all categories across international brand standards.

Yoon elaborated: “Consumers shop online for lower prices. Apart from sourcing for affordable and a greater variety of quality products, 11street’s commitment is to deliver a holistic online marketplace to Malaysian consumers where they can find great discounts and an exciting shopping experience in a single place. 11street seeks to deliver convenience to our shoppers, at lower prices – guaranteed!”

More than 100,000 Lowest Price Guaranteed Deals and Free Shipping for Purchase above RM29

By collaborating with thousands of locally established and globally recognised brands, the launch of 11street’s year-end online shopping campaign – ‘Shocking? YES!’ – will introduce 100,000 Lowest Price Guaranteed products and free shipping for purchase above RM29 under the Shocking Deals section beginning 1 November 2017 and ending 31 December 2017, with over thousands of sellers and international brands to shop from.

During the campaign, consumers will enjoy a range of products from global participating brands, namely Globalegrow (a public listed brand on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange with market capitalisation exceeding US$3 billion); Anker and Aukey (top ranking global Amazon sellers leading in the charging category, and consumer electronics and mobile tech accessories respectively, in more than 20 countries including the USA, Japan and Europe); Hada Labo (number 1 face lotion in Japan, with one bottle purchased every two seconds); OLENS (number 1 cosmetic lens supplier in Korea); MamyPoko; and Samsung, to name a few.

The happy faces of 11street’s guests of honour, brand partners, and executives at the launch of the ‘Shocking? YES!’ campaign, 11street’s year-end sale

Other participating brands include Banggood, Banila Co., Bluelans, Caring Pharmacy, CJ WOW Shop, Courts, Lotte, Mamonde, Nongshim, Skechers, Tesco, UEB Technology, and many others.

11street Expects 50% Increase in Overall Business

Yoon concluded: “As consumers embark on a shopping spree during the year-end sale season, 11street aims to achieve at least a 50% increase in GMV and its cross-border trading orders. We believe that today’s launch of our ‘Shocking? YES!’ will pave the way to redefining online shopping for Malaysians, by giving them more product variety bundled with shocking promotions that they cannot resist.”

As the number 2 online marketplace in the country, 11street’s growing business portfolio now has more than 40,000 sellers with over 13 million listed products, and has an average of 16 million monthly visits.

The launch of 11street’s ‘Shocking? YES!’ campaign was witnessed by Tan Sri Datuk Ter Leong Yap, President of the Associated Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Malaysia (ACCCIM); Akira Kajita, Managing Director of the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) Kuala Lumpur; Yeon Sung Whan, Director of the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA); and Adam Tan, Vice President of the China Entrepreneurs Association in Malaysia (PUCM).

For more information about 11street’s ‘Shocking? YES!’ campaign and its series of Shocking Deals, please visit www.11street.my

About 11street (www.11street.my)

11street is a trustworthy and convenient online marketplace that offers a great variety of products at competitive prices. It strives to revolutionise today’s consumers’ online shopping experience by making it more personalised and engaging. 11street has a diverse selection of product categories which are tagged on Fashion, Electronics, Groceries, Health & Beauty, Kids & Baby, Leisure & Sports, Home & Living, and Books & Services including deal offerings like E-vouchers. 11street is also an optimised marketplace where its merchandising ecosystem, education and training programs can fully support sellers regardless of the size of their businesses. Established in Korea since 2008, 11street is now one of the top global e-commerce marketplace providers with 400,000 sellers serving over 30 million consumers worldwide. 11street also has a presence in Turkey and Thailand, known as n11 and 11street respectively. For more information, please visit http://www.11street.my.

[1] http://www.miti.gov.my/miti/resources/Gallery_Walk.pdf

Look naturally beautiful and elegant with Innershine and Bella Ammara

By
Tan Heng Hong
-

23 October 2017

InnerShineÂź is set to bring you a natural glow and elegance with its latest collaboration with Bella Ammara, a popular Muslimah fashion brand touted for its chic minimalistic styles and classy fabrics.

Consumers can now look forward to owning a Bella Ammara hijab worth RM65 with the purchase of InnerShine¼ range of beauty drinks made from nature’s best to nourish you from within.

With five attractive colours to choose from – Royal Purple, Salmon Pink, Cream, Maroon and Black – collect one or more colours from now until December while stocks last. The Maroon and Black hijab is exclusively available at Watson’s while the Salmon Pink and Cream hijab is available at Guardian.

The redemption is applicable with the purchase of a 24-bottle pack or two 12-bottle packs of InnerShineŸ  Prune Essence or InnerShineŸ Berry Essence at selected pharmacies nationwide.

The InnerShineÂź range of beauty drinks is made from premium fruits and natural goodness to nourish the body from within. Harnessing the power of nature, the natural fruit essences are gentle and safe for daily consumption.

InnerShineÂź Prune Essence is a natural prune concentrate enriched with soluble dietary fibre to gently detoxify the body and promote a healthy digestive system, allowing the body to absorb nutrients better. Rich in antioxidants to help combat free radicals, regular consumption of this beauty drink helps your skin maintain a youthful complexion.

Revive tired eyes with InnerShineŸ Berry Essence that contains all the essential nutrients needed to bring that little sparkle back in the eyes. Made from an exclusive blend of acai berries, blueberries, blackcurrants, chokeberries, cranberries, elderberries and strawberries, this delicious mix of seven premium berries is rich in antioxidants properties to combat free radical damage while relieving tired eyes, improve blood circulation and reduce fatigue.

Visit your nearest pharmacy now or call BRAND’S Customer Care Line at 1-300-228-300 or visit InnerShine Club on Facebook for promotion details.  

 

PT Nippon Indosari Corpindo Tbk Brings Sari Roti to Korean Market

By
Tan Heng Hong
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Jakarta – 19 October 2017, PT Nippon Indosari Corpindo Tbk. (ROTI), has recently reached a definitive agreement with Korea’s leading coffee franchise in the global market, Caffebene (ìčŽíŽ˜ëČ ë„€). The agreement will grant the Company an exclusive right to supply cakes and pastries in 576 Caffebene outlets in South Korea in December 2017, under the CaffeBene by Sari Roti brand.

The initiative brings together two strong businesses in food and beverages from two large markets in Asia, to deliver high quality and delightful products to win the hearts of Caffebene’s customers in Korea. CaffeBene by Sari Roti products will be available in all Caffebene outlets in Korea that also sell brewed coffee, espresso drinks, hot and cold beverages, sandwiches and bagels.

Sari Roti has the biggest market share in Indonesia, with a broad range of products, consisting of white bread, sweet bread, as well as cakes that are enjoyed by Indonesia’s consumers for more than 22 years. Meanwhile, Caffebene, starting its domestic coffee franchise business in 2008, has gone worldwide, with presence in 14 countries and 129 stores around the world.

“We are pleased that Sari Roti is now the exclusive supplier of cakes and pastries to Korea’s leading coffee chain, Caffebene. With the introduction of CaffeBene by Sari Roti products, our company will be a step closer to become the leading baking goods manufacturer in Asia by 2025,” said Wendy Yap, President Director and Chief Executive Officer of PT Nippon Indosari Corpindo Tbk.

The agreement with Caffebene marks ROTI’s second foray in the global market, following its entry to the Philippines in 2016, by establishing a joint venture with Monde Nissin Corporation, called Sarimonde Foods Corporation.

About PT Nippon Indosari Corpindo Tbk.

PT Nippon Indosari Corpindo Tbk. (BEI: ROTI) is a bread manufacturing and distribution company established in 1995. The Company is committed to continuously produce and distribute a wide range of products, which are halal, with high quality, hygienic, and affordable for all Indonesian consumers through the Sari Roti brand. The Company implements the ISO standard of Food Safety Management System and Quality Management System. Currently, its 10 factories are located in Bekasi (Cikarang and Cibitung), Pasuruan, Semarang, Medan, Palembang, Makassar, Cikande, and Purwakarta, with production capacity of more than four million pieces of bread per day. All Sari Roti products have been registered in the Indonesia’s National Agency of Food and Drug Control (Badan BPOM Indonesia) as well as certified Halal by the Indonesian Ulema Council (Majelis Ulama Indonesia). In 2016, the Company and Monde Nissin Corporation set up a joint venture called Sarimonde Foods Corporation in the Philippines. Visit www.sariroti.com for more details about the Company and www.rotinyaindonesia.com for Sari Roti’s newest products.

Prime Bread expands to wholemeal cream roll, growing importance of minimarket

By
Tan Heng Hong
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PT Gardenia Makmur Selaras, first launched in 2016, has enriched its Prime Bread range in Indonesia with wholemeal cream roll (roti gandum). Available since September 2017, the wholemeal cream rolls come with wheat bran (tepung kulit gandum) to provide the rolls with better texture and a healthier choice.

Main ingredients

The key ingredients in the Prime Bread Roti Gandum Isi Krim Rasa Keju (Prime Bread Wholemeal Roll with Cheese Flavour) are wheat flour (tepung terigu), water (air), sugar (gula pasir), shortening (lemak reroti), cheese (keju), fructose syrup (sirup fruktosa), potato starch (tepung kentang), wheat bran (tepung kulit gandum), margarine (margarin), gluten flour (tepung gluten), yeast (ragi), whey powder (whey bubuk), emulsifier (pengmulsi), skim milk powder (susu skim bubuk), salt (garam), cheese powder (bubuk keju), preservatives – calcium propionate and calcium sorbate (pengawet – kalsium propionat dan kalium sorbat), vitamin and minerals (vitamin dan mineral), artificial cheese flavour (perisa artifisial keju) and flour treatment agent (perlakuan tepung).

The wholemeal cream rolls comprise cheese flavour and roast beef flavour (sapi panggang). Each comes with a net weight of 50g and is priced at IDR 3,500 (USD 0.26).

In addition to the two new wholemeal cream rolls, Gardenia Makmur Selaras introduced a new strawberry yoghurt flavour in September 2017 to bring the total number of cream roll variants to five. The existing four cream rolls comprise vanilla, corn cream, chocolate and caramel margarine.

Wholemeal cream roll launched in Singapore in February 2017

In Singapore, Gardenia introduced the Gardenia Dual Cream Wholemeal Cream Rolls with the fusion of two cream flavours of Cranberry & Vanilla, and Peanut Butter & Caramel in February 2017.

The Gardenia Enriched Cranberry & Vanilla Wholemeal Cream Roll and Gardenia Enriched Peanut Butter & Caramel Wholemeal Cream Roll are packed with a generous dose of dual cream and each wholemeal bread roll is made with super fine and soft wholemeal flour and enriched with vitamins B1, B2 and B3.  

In Malaysia, Gardenia has yet to introduce wholemeal cream roll.
Prime Bread sold exclusively in Indomaret

Indomaret devotes three shelves for bread and bread products – Prime Bread, Sharon, Sari Roti and Mr Bread.

Prime Bread is exclusively distributed by PT Indomarco Prismatama and sold in Indomaret minimarkets across Indonesia. Mr Bread is made by PT Indoroti Prima Cermerlang, founded in October 2015 and is likely to be affiliated with Indomarco Prismatama.

Yamazaki MyRoti is sold in Alfamart, while Sharon is available in both Indomaret and Alfamart.

All eyes on minimarket

Source: Rabobank from The Jakarta Post

A Rabobank report in 2016 has revealed minimarket has become a major channel for the bakery category in Indonesia with minimarket’s share of sales reaching that of independent grocers in 2015.

The Jakarta Post in June 2016 reported bread sales at Indomaret grew by 25-30% year year in the past five years in value and volume citing Haliman Kustedjo, president director of Indoritel Makmur International, the parent company of Indomarco Prismatama, which runs the Indomaret minimarket chain.

In the first three months of 2016, sales of Sari Roti and Mr Bread in Alfamart stores surged by 84.2% year-on-year, while private label bread sales in the minimarket chain rose 81.3%, reported The Jakarta Post.

Indomaret is significant for Sari Roti

Source: BCA Sekuritas – 11 August 2017

An equity research report by BCA Sekuritas citing PT Nippon Indosari Corpindo (Sari Roti) data shows Indomaret is an important sales channel for Sari Roti in the modern trade. Indomaret’s share of sales for Sari Roti at 39% in 2016 was much higher than Alfamart at 26%. The combined contribution of the two of the country’s dominant minimarket chains towards Sari Roti’s revenue in 2016 stood at 64%.

What Mini Me thinks

It is all eyes on minimarket as growth of convenience store has stalled following the collapsed of 7-Eleven. Other growth venues for large packaged bread companies include traditional trade, which is dominated by smaller players and direct sales (online and door-to-door).

With an affordable price, cream roll is a segment that has potential to grow for on-the-go consumption and Prime Bread is in the forefront to ride that growth.

Ready-to-drink Luwak White Koffie and Good Day Original​é Cappuccino

By
Tan Heng Hong
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After having South Korean heartthrob actor Lee Min Ho starring in its television commercial in 2016, Indonesia’s Luwak White Koffie introduced a new ready-to-drink white coffee in May 2017 in partnership with the South Korean packaging firm Samyang.

The RTD drink is also the first RTD white coffee in Indonesia. It claims to be “100% made in Korea.” The reason PT Java Prima Abadi appointed Lee Min Ho as the brand ambassador of Luwak White Koffie is to grow the brand internationally as Lee is highly recognised worldwide.

The 240ml RTD coffee has zero trans fat, low caffeine, made with 100% low fat milk and featuring the aroma lock system.

Good Day Original​é Cappuccino

PT Santos Jaya Abadi, the maker of Good Day RTD coffee and Kapal Api instant coffee, added Original​é Cappuccino in May 2017 to its existing range of 250ml RTD coffee in PET bottle.

Image from Good Day Facebook

The existing Good Day RTD Coffee range includes Tiramisu Bliss, Avocado Delight, Green Tea Lattecinno and Funtastic Mocacinno.

Indonesian singer Afgansyah Reza, popularly known as Afgan, continues to endorse Good Day and is helping to inject a youthful vibrancy to the brand. The new Original​é Cappuccino focuses on the Italian classic flavour with the tagline “Rasa Klasik yang Selalu Asik” or “Classic Taste and Always Cool.”

Sales volume growth slows to single-digit

Santos Jaya Abadi Managing Director Paulus Nugroho said to Bisnes in August 2017 that the instant coffee maker’s sales volume only grew by single-digit in the first quarter of 2017 compared with a double-digit growth previously. He attributed the slowdown to weak consumer sentiment.

The company said it controls 70% of the domestic black coffee (kopi hitam) market. Santos Jaya Abadi exports to nearly 30 countries with exports contributing 15% of revenue. The remaining 85% is accounted by the domestic market.

The top three revenue contributors in descending order are Kapal Api Special Mix, ABC and Good Day, of which Kapal Api Special Mix contributed at least 20% of total revenue.

A visit to the new South Korean GS Supermarket in Cipondoh

By
Tan Heng Hong
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Image from GS Supermarket

GS Supermarket, South Korea’s number 1 supermarket chain, opened its third outlet in Cipondoh in Tangerang on 12 October 2017. The first store was established in Legenda Wisata in Cibubur, Bogor nearly one year ago on 7 October 2016 and back then, it marked the expansion of the South Korean retailer into the most populous Southeast Asian nation. The second outlet is located in Jatiasih in Bekasi.

GS Supermarket concentrates on the fringes of Jakarta

All three outlets are located in Jabodetabek, an area comprising Jakarta, Bogor, Depok, Tangerang and Bekasi. The store in Cibubur is “Built to Suit” in collaboration with Sinar Mas Land. To own a store in Jakarta, the company has to rent but outside of Jakarta, it can build the property to its own specification, said a report in Kontan.co.id in October 2017.

Serving middle class and above

The reason for choosing to locate its first outlet in Kota Wisata, a project by Sinar Mas Land, is because the Cibubur area has a high concentration of middle and upper class consumers. In Cipondoh, the outlet is located outside of Taman Royal 2, a residential area.

A visit to GS Supermarket Cipondoh on 15 October 2017

GS Supermarket in Cipondoh. Photographed by the author

Like most other GS Supermarket in Indonesia, the Cipondoh outlet has an indoor children’s playground (Kiddy Garden) where the children can play while waiting for mom to complete her shopping and a foodservice premise (Cooking Story). The Cipondoh outlet also features a launderette and car park in front of the store.

For the first GS Supermarket in Cibubur, the store has major tenants like the South Korean bakery chain Tous Les Jours, local Bengawan Solo Coffee, Century pharmacy and Great Chef restaurant.

Cooking Story

The GS Supermarket Cipondoh has incorporated the groceraunt concept with restaurant-style offerings (eg. sirloin steak) to offer a well-rounded shopping experience.

To tempt the taste bud of Indonesians, the menu features not only local food but also Korean and Japanese food and western and pasta.

The price for the Korean and Japanese food ranges from IDR 20,000 (toppoki and ramen) to IDR 25,000 (spicy chicken ramen, kimbab, California special sushi and salmom maki sushi).

Pasta and western food is priced from IDR 25,000 for spaghetti bolognese and spaghetti carbonara and all the way up to IDR 55,000 for sirloin steak.

A place for kids to play

In-store playground has become an important facility in brick-and-mortar retailers to win back consumers who are migrating to online shopping. Transmart Carrefour has the Kid City indoor amusement park in selected outlets, while the new Aeon Mall in Jarkata Garden City focuses on interactive facilities including Indonesia’s first international standard first skate rink and Fanpekka, a Scandinavian-style educational center for kids.

At GS Supermarket Cipondoh, the store provides parents with an indoor playground and this makes the store a destination for family.

Membership drive

The first thing GS Supermarket encourages consumers to do is to sign up for its membership card, which is free (gratis). The card offers consumers with a 0.7% cash back and GS&Point, where the points can be used for future purchases. GS&Point is the same name as the GS customer loyalty program in South Korea.

The data collected from shoppers’ spending habits will provide the retailer with a wealth of information for future targeted promotional activities.

Fresh produce section

The fresh produce section is the first port of call when you enter the shop. The range of fresh produce and meat is adequate for a size of a supermarket.

Japanese and Korean products

GS Supermarket Cipondoh offers a selection of Korean and Japanese products, which is the standard practice for most Korean/Japanese retailers in foreign markets. This comes as the key attraction for shoppers visiting the Korean/Japanese grocery chain is to get hold of the latest and most trending imported foodstuffs from South Korea/Japan.

The Korea Zone offers a range of imported Korean foodstuffs including snacks from Lotte, Nongshim and Crown as well as seaweed snacks from Manjun and Bibigo (CJ).

The Japanese product section features Japanese houseware.

Lack of space

The GS Supermarket Cipondoh is compact as the retailer maximises the store usage to the fullest. It makes it tough for shoppers to navigate around the store when it is crowded.

The store ambient is very localised and does not have the elegant feel of a South Korean supermarket. If the aim is to target middle to upper class consumers then GS Supermarket needs to work on improving the fine details in the Cipondoh outlet to make the store more beautiful and attractive.

*All images photographed by the author.

Review of Bakmi Mewah new Bakmi Goreng Komplit

By
Tan Heng Hong
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The Bakmi Mewah premium instant noodle range now comes with Bakmi Goreng Komplit, a dry noodle containing real pieces of chicken meat, baso ikan (fish meatball) and telur goreng (fried egg) in a retorted pouch. The first of its kind in Indonesia and was likely launched in August/September 2017.

Image from Bakmi Mewah Facebook

With Nielsen data showing sales of instant noodle in Indonesia falling around 4% in the first quarter of 2017, flavour innovation and premiumisation have become important drivers for the instant noodle category. This has prompted Mayora Indah to add another flavour to its highly successful Bakmi Mewah range, first introduced in 2016.

In terms of the taste and the real ingredients, the Bakmi Mewah Rasa Bakmi Goreng Komplit pale in comparison with Bakmi Mewah Rasa Daging Ayam dan Jamur Asli, the first product. It is really hard to identify the different real ingredients in the latest Bakmi Mewah, where real ingredients are supposedly their unique selling point.

Meiji exports milk to Malaysia via Thai unit

By
Tan Heng Hong
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Japan’s Meiji Co., Ltd. has made available its UHT low fat milk, UHT low fat strawberry flavour milk and UHT fresh milk in Malaysia. The UHT milk (830ml) is imported by CP Dairy Products Sdn Bhd from Thailand and is certified halal by the local Thai authorities.

In Thailand, the joint venture CP-Meiji Co., Ltd. produces and sells dairy products, primarily chilled milk and Meiji Bulgaria Yogurt. The entity also exports to neighbouring countries including Singapore where is is the number one selling milk.

Image from CP Meiji Singapore – June 2016

In Malaysia, Meiji is sold as a UHT milk but it has to be kept at a temperature of 4°C or less. Normally, a UHT milk can be kept in room temperature and does not need to be refrigerated. To explore this topic further, we have uncovered the same milk is selling in Singapore minus the word “UHT.” The two products are comparable because they have the same nutritional information.

The milk sells in Singapore for SGD 3.05 (Redmart) and in Malaysia, it is priced at RM 9.90 (Aeon).

What Mini Me thinks

The export of made-in-Thailand milk products into Malaysia marks the broadening of the export focus of Thai dairy firms beyond the traditional markets like CVLM (Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos and Myanmar) into Muslim countries like Malaysia. The requirement for Malaysia is tougher as halal is a prerequisite to ensure the dairy products are accepted by Muslim consumers.

Apart from CP-Meiji, the Thai state-run Dairy Farming Promotion Organisation (DPO) said in July 2017 that it was exploring exporting to Muslim countries starting with Malaysia. The plan was to export Thai-Danish brand UHT dairy products to Malaysia by the end of 2017, making the country as a springboard into other Muslim countries such as Brunei and Indonesia. Once this is successful, more Thai dairy companies will likely to follow suit.

1st pasteurised mixed kale and veggie juice launched in Malaysia

By
Tan Heng Hong
-

Malaysia Milk Sdn Bhd has launched the new Marigold Peel Fresh Mixed Kale and Veggie Juice Drink with no added sugar in Malaysia. The juice drink is made from 100% juice and contains dietary fiber, vitamin A, B6, C and E. It is also the first pasteurised mixed kale and veggie juice in Malaysia. At Aeon, the 1L juice drink is available for a price of RM 6.80 (USD 1.60).

The same Marigold Peel Fresh Mixed Kale and Veggie Juice Drink was made available in Singapore in the first half of 2017. The juice is designed to supplement the vegetable needs of those who do not like to consume vegetables.

Here are the ingredients and the nutrition information.

 

 

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