Why Hainan Could Be The Next Dubai
The sudden halt to international travel brought on by the pandemic meant the world’s biggest (by a wide margin) cohort of luxury consumers were cut off from overseas shopping trips.
China seized the opportunity to ease restriction at domestic duty free stores and saw retail sales soar. With an eye on building a dual circulation economy, the expansion of duty free retail is a logical step.
Five key cities are being targeted as duty free shopping centers, and will likely end up rivaling even the world’s best duty free destinations.
Scope of potential retail sales; What’s next for China’s duty free sector
We’ve survived another month, despite facing an onslaught of challenges.
FINANCE
Amazon (USA) reported disappointing Q3 results as net income fell to $3.2 billion, half of the $6.3 billion it earned a year ago. Net sales for the period rose 15% year-on-year, to $110.8 billion.
- For the nine months to September, international sales grew 35% year-on-year to $90.5 billion. This compares with North American sales that grew 23% to $197.5 billion.
- Net income for the first nine months was $19 billion, up 35% year-on-year.
- The company’s long term focus will likely keep it well ahead of competitors – even if it occasionally has to sacrifice earnings.
“We’ve always said that when confronted with the choice between optimizing for short-term profits versus what’s best for customers over the long term, we will choose the latter—and you can see that during every phase of this pandemic.” – Andy Jassy, Amazon CEO.
PayPal has said that it is not going to acquire Pinterest, despite previous reports that it was eyeing the social media platform.
Marks & Spencer (UK) is considering a bid to rescue Gieves & Hawkes, the 250-year-old Savile Row brand.
Allbirds (USA) is targeting a valuation of as much as $2.2 billion in its IPO, according to its updated registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
- Revenue for Q3 (ended September 30) is expected to be up 32% to $62.5 million driven by rising sales at its physical stores.
- Q3 loss is forecast between $15 million to $18 million, double the nearly $7 million a year earlier due to higher expenses.
- The brand was founded in 2015 and has not yet shown a profit.
PODCAST
How New D2C Brands are Changing The Industry
Digital Native and D2C brands, as an aggregate, are becoming a market force. In this podcast, Kevin Lynk, CEO of Creare, a New York-based apparel agency, talks about:
- What new brands need from suppliers – and how suppliers can leverage this to build customer loyalty.
- How D2C brands are setting new industry standards for sustainability and CSR.
- Key shifts that are redefining the apparel industry – for the better!
MARKETS
UK shoppers have racked up more than £4 billion in outstanding debt so far this year after taking advantage of ‘buy now, pay later’ (BNPL) deals during the pandemic, according to data from Credit Karma.
- As the government looks to regulate the use of BNPL services, Klarna – a provider of this service – has issued a statement saying that its users’ average outstanding balance is only £48 and that if a customer misses a payment their use of the service is restricted to keep debt from piling up.
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