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Retailing

Retailing
Latest news and features on retailing with a particular focus on Hong Kong, mainland China and Asia, covering consumer goods and services, retail strategies, shopping habits, sales results and trends.
Apple has started offering discounts under the government subsidy scheme through its own domestic retail channels. Photo: Shutterstock
Apple

Apple joins China’s subsidy scheme to lift sales amid heated local competition

Consumers in Beijing and Shanghai can avail themselves of discounts of up to US$278 on select models of Apple devices, including the iPhone.

Hong Kong company reporting season

Hong Kong drink maker Vitasoy’s profit doubles to US$30 million on China demand

Mergers & Acquisitions

Starbucks denies it is considering a full sale of its China operations

Banking & finance

With The Monsters, Monkey King and Ne Zha, China IP businesses brace for growth

China’s IP sales are projected to grow at an annual rate of 17.2 per cent through 2029 after reaching US$1 billion in 2024, CICC says.

A Pop Mart store in Bangkok. Photo: AFP
Artificial intelligence

Yum China rolls out AI agent, to help, not replace store managers

Aiming to help frontline managers with tasks such as scheduling and inventory management, system aligns with industry’s wider AI push.

Icons and Influencers

Meet Aimee Smale, the founder of affordable luxury clothing brand Odd Muse

Odd Muse made its London Fashion Week debut in 2023 and its Essex-native founder landed on the Forbes 30 under 30 list – the brand now has 2 stores in Covent Garden and New York City’s SoHo.

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Banking & finance

World’s most valuable toymaker loses glow in People’s Daily warning

The People’s Daily newspaper ran a commentary that railed against the ‘wilful consumerism’ of so-called blind boxes.

Labubu dolls in a store during an organized press tour to Popland, a theme park opened by Chinese toy company Pop Mart, in Beijing on June 2, 2025. Photo: EPA-EFE.
Mobile payments

Ant Group pushes wider adoption of AI-enabled smart glasses for mobile payments

The first such payment outside mainland China was recently completed in Hong Kong, using the AlipayHK app and Meizu’s StarV smart glasses.

E-commerce

China subsidies give Alibaba, JD.com sales lift during 618 shopping festival

The Chinese e-commerce giants again withheld total gross merchandise value figures, continuing a trend in recent years amid a maturing market.

JD.com

JD.com founder bets on stablecoins to cut cross-border e-commerce payment costs

‘JD.com intends to secure stablecoin licences across key currency markets globally,’ founder and chairman Richard Liu says.

E-commerce giant JD.com expects stablecoins to become the world’s next-generation payment system. Photo: Shutterstock
China’s economic stimulus

China plots course to boost yuan versus dominant dollar

Eight financial reforms announced by the central bank chief are the latest efforts to boost the currency’s role abroad, stabilise markets and shore up the economy.

People’s Bank of China Governor Pan Gongsheng speaks at the Lujiazui Forum. Photo: AFP
Banking & finance

China’s consumer-goods spending improves as deflation eases, Bain says

The outlook for 2025 is still unclear because of an ongoing consumption downgrade and changes in spending patterns.

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China economy

Editorial | China welcomes rise in consumption but long way to go yet

Retail sales jumped to boost economy in May thanks to slew of government incentives and subsidies that need to continue during costly US trade war.

Hong Kong property

Michelin-listed Ancient Moon shuts during Hong Kong’s dining upheaval

The last day of operation of Ancient Moon in North Point is on July 19, according to its Instagram post.

An undated photograph of the exterior of Ancient Moon on Kam Ping Street in North Point. Photo: Handout
China's economic recovery

China’s economy weathers US tariff storm in May as consumption picks up

The trade war continued to weigh on China’s manufacturing and exports in May, but retail sales gained momentum.

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Containers are stacked in a port near Shanghai in eastern China. The trade war continued to weigh on China’s exports in May, despite Beijing and Washington agreeing a deal to roll back tariffs. Photo: AFP
Artificial intelligence

How a Chinese AI start-up helps Nike, Gap, Urban Revivo predict fashion trends

Hangzhou Zhiyi Technology’s operations reflect how AI adoption in mainland China is expanding and transforming various industries.

Commodities

Crypto can’t chip away at gold’s safe-haven shield: gold researcher

Spot gold price surged to US$3,444 after Israel’s strikes on Iran.

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China consumption

China’s top baijiu maker faces sobering reality as austerity trims profits

Guidelines restricting spending by officials are trimming profits for one of China’s strongest brands – but there’s little the company can do.

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Moutai, one of China’s most popular liquor brands, is being put in a difficult position by rules limiting extravagant spending by officials. Photo: Xinhua
Hong Kong economy

WeChat Pay records fourfold rise in mainland tourist taxi payments in Hong Kong

Tencent executive also says more than 20,000 taxi drivers in city now accept both local WeChat Pay HK accounts and the mainland version.

Artificial intelligence

ByteDance helps jewellery firm Lao Feng Xiang push AI glasses to China’s elderly

The jewellery firm’s foray into the wearables market reflects a surge of fresh interest in smart eyewear with AI-powered capabilities.

Nintendo

Nintendo’s new Switch 2 console breaks a sales record in first 4 days

Sales for the latest hardware release by Japanese games giant Nintendo have met expectations, despite the hefty price tag.

A shopper buys the new Nintendo Switch 2 game console in Tokyo, Japan, on June 5. Photo: Reuters
Apple

Apple’s most sweeping software redesign disappoints mainland Chinese consumers

The hashtag ‘iOS26 Ugly’ was microblogging app Weibo’s top-trending topic on Tuesday, as thousands of netizens expressed their discontent.

Apple previews a new software interface design at its annual Worldwide Developers Conference in Cupertino, California, on June 9, 2025. Photo: Getty Images via AFP
Banking & finance

Labubu becomes bait for China’s Ping An Bank to lure young customers

Tactic draws attention of regulators as retail banks on the mainland struggle to attract young customers, analysts say.

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John Lee

Exclusive | Hong Kong’s retail sector is struggling but people will have to adapt: John Lee

Chief Executive John Lee urges businesses to ‘work harder’ in response to market changes.

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China manufacturing

Baijiu blues and plum pickings: tastes of China’s Gen Z rewrite liquor industry

Young Chinese are driving a shift from the traditional white spirit to fruity, lower-alcohol beverages, in a sign of as evolving lifestyles.

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The Jiangji Distillery is a brewing base for Chinese liquor, located in Baisha town, Chongqing. Photo: Handout
Beauty

Thai beauty is taking off – and Cathy Doll’s owner Karmart is its star

Wongwiwat and Pongwiwat Theekhakhirikul discuss starting as a family business, Trump tariffs, and offering premium products.

Wongwiwat (left) and Pongwiwat (right) Theekhakhirikul celebrating the 15th anniversary of Karmart in 2024. Photo: Handout
Timepieces

Meaningful milestones or marketing run amok? A closer look at anniversary watches

Anniversary editions hold value if the stories behind them are relevant – see the likes of Jaeger-LeCoultre, Hublot, Zenith, Patek Philippe and Tag Heuer for good examples.

China’s economic stimulus

Local governments halt some subsidies ahead of China’s big 618 shopping festival

Abrupt halt to shopping vouchers – meant to stimulate consumption and boost economy – comes as a surprise, with depleted funds and ‘programme upgrades’ cited.

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