Page 16 - February 2020

asia news inbrief

BANGKOK’S THANIYA PLAZA TO BE REFURBISHED CENTRAL GROUP LAUNCHES

FOR THE FIRST TIME IN THREE DECADES PORTO DE PHUKET MALL SEPHORA OPENS A FLAGSHIP
Sephora Malaysia has launched a new flagship
store at Fahrenheit88 shopping mall in Kuala
Thai developer Thaniya Group plans to invest more Thailand’s Central Group has launched a Lumpur, the French beauty brand’s largest
than US$33M on renovating Thaniya Plaza, its first new shopping mall, Porto de Phuket which outlet in Southeast Asia. Located in downtown
major makeover project in 30 years. The project will is located in Phuket, Thailand. Kuala Lumpur, the store occupies a 17,000sq ft
cover the refurbishment of its exterior and interior Located at Thalang District, the 40,000sq area, featuring more than 10,000 products from
design as well as the transformation of Thaniya Road. m development is divided into seven 100 brands.
Located in the heart of the tourist precinct of highlighted zones, featuring a wide range of
Silom, Thaniya Plaza is a major drawcard for golfers, stores and Michelin-starred restaurants.
especially visitors from Japan and South Korea. The Central Food Hall provides service CLARINS SKIN SPA ADDS STORE
“Thaniya Plaza will further strengthen our in standalone formats outside for the first Last month Clarins Skin Spa opened at
position as the well-known landmark on Silom time, offering a variety of products and the Singapore’s Ion Orchard. The luxury beauty
Road and fulfil needs of people in the Silom area,” first Cheese Room in Phuket. Restaurant brand recently unveiled its new home having
said Tasnawat Sombuntham, MD of Thaniya Group. and cafe zone, The Fame, brings together spent the past 24 years at its former Wheelock
“We are confident that we can cater to a need for famous restaurants and cafes for hipsters Place location. The interior of light oak, whites
business operators in terms of the customer traffic and the chilled, including Suay, serving a and lush greens reflect the ethos of the brand.
and the prime location in Bangkok’s CBD. We have fusion of Thai and western food by the
also improved our space-rental services to align with iron chef, Russian restaurant Spice House,
today’s business landscape.” Wine Connection and French style cafe GS25 OPENS C-STORE CONCEPT
Lady Coco. South Korean convenience-store chain GS25,
HARRODS TO OPEN FIRST ECE FOUNDS SUBSIDIARY owned by GS Retail, has opened a futuristic
convenience store without a checkout counter
STORE OUTSIDE THE UK IN CHINA MARS AND AL AT FOREFRONT OF in Jung District, Seoul. When customers enter
UNUSUAL DEPARTMENT STORE the store, 34 ‘deep-learning cameras’ will
recognise their behaviour.
Harrods is set to open its first store in China in a bid to serve the ECE has founded a subsidiary in China, the ECE Shanghai Co.,
country’s surging middle class. The luxury department store’s first Ltd., to further expand its existing activities in architectural and Chinese department store SKP has area, Xu Zhen’s sculptures and Daniel
standalone site outside the UK will open this year and will be located planning services for shopping centres in the country. launched a futuristic ‘retail experience Rozin’s kinetic penguins interact within an STATIONER ADDS NEW STORE
in Shanghai’s Pudong. ECE has been active in this field in China since 2013, and has space’ in South Beijing, featuring robotic “artificial landscape of the future”. Typo Vietnam has launched its second store in
Harrods Managing Director Michael Ward said the company has worked on a total of 29 projects in eleven cities since then, 15 sheep, martians and kinetic penguins. Meanwhile a fashion retail store on the Ho Chi Minh City, just weeks after it had made
been investing in China for a decade and has responded to customer of which are currently underway. The main responsibilities of the On one floor, SKP has partnered with second floor examines ‘Martian History’. its debut in the country. Located at Crescent
demands for a more permanent presence. international team of experts with employees in Shanghai and eyewear brand Gentle Monster to create The floor’s spatial design and objects tell Mall, the second Typo Vietnam store features a
“If you look at all of the reports, they say, quite categorically that all Hamburg are services and consulting in the fields of functional a ‘Future Farm’ “inspired by the concept the fictitious ‘history’ of Martians’ lives, wide and varied collection of gifts, decor and
of the growth in the next five years is going to come from south-east planning, architecture, and interior design. of reality and illusion” where clones of wars, and power, “evoking tension through travel accessories.
Asia. And is going to come from millennials,” Ward said. “So we’ve Its activities in China are focused on using its many years robotic sheep move and breathe in a the coexistence of past and future”. There
got to go after that. It’s very important that you follow the money. of expertise to support Chinese shopping centre developers lifelike manner. are four zones – Women’s, Men’s, Soft
We see continued growth of China, but we see a need to be a more and investors in concept development, planning, and designing On the first floor Beauty of the Future Corner and Fashion Accessories. FREITAG OPENS JAPAN OUTLET
permanent resident in China.” shopping centres. is a cosmetic retail store themed around The third floor is home to a shoe Bag and carrying case manufacturer Freitag has
the “unprecedented aesthetic trends of retailer depicting the theme ‘Mars opened its fourth outlet in Japan. The Swiss firm,
Mars”. The Skincare Zone displays objects Rediscovery’. ‘Digitalised humans’ examine which creates its products from used truck
and plants while the Bar and Salon in their history through past media and tarpaulins, has set up an 80sq m distribution
the Makeup Zone features constantly relics of ‘the first settlement on Mars’. The centre in Kyoto in the vicinity of the ancient
changing content, helping create “an active shoe space is divided into Contemporary Nishiki market and the metropolitan Nakagyo-
and engaging cosmetic experience” for Zone, Designer Zone, Sneaker Zone, and ku pedestrian precinct.
customers. On the second floor’s common Active Zone.

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