Spire E-Newsletter Summer Issue 2018
Spire’s 4-point AADC e-commerce strategy addresses SMB e-commerce challenges
1 May 2018
Spire was honoured to participate at the GATES Indonesia ICT Reseller Channel Summit 2018. The Summit was held on 1-3 May, 2018 in Bali. Jeffrey Bahar, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the Spire Research and Consulting group and Indah Muliana, Senior Manager, shared insights on the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) industry in Indonesia, focusing on market trends and challenges.
Bahar and Muliana discussed the growth of the ICT (Information and Communications Technology) market, its rapid expansion and the challenges faced by e-commerce businesses in Indonesia.
Due to the rise in internet penetration with more online transactions, Indonesia’s ICT spending is expected to reach USD28.4 billion by 2020 whereas end-user device spending is set to increase 18% by 2020.
As Indonesia’s internet user population reaches 143.26 million in 2017, 90% are using smartphones and close to 65% people prefer the Cash on Delivery (COD) option when buying products online.
However, challenges remain for small and medium-sized businesses (SMB) struggling to capture the online market through appropriate channel partners.
Bahar and Muliana focused on a 4-point e-commerce strategy known as AADC (Acquisition, Affiliation, Diversification and Collaboration) to address issues such as improving workforce productivity, lowering operational costs, increasing business growth and managing uncertainty.
Bahar and Muliana discussed multiservice bundling, out of the box solutions and loyalty programs for customers. One example that was discussed was drones developed by SNC Technology to create fleet monitoring and capturing solutions to target forestry and plantations.
Jeffrey Bahar and Indah Muliana’s presentation deck on “GATES Indonesia ICT Reseller Channel Summit 2018” can be found here.
Spire hosts first Client Entertainment Night of the year
27 April 2018
Spire Singapore hosted its first Client Entertainment Night of the year. Clients, business associates and partners joined the Spire team for a dinner reception followed by the movie screening of “Marvel’s Avengers: Infinity War” – the much awaited latest instalment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe franchise.
The movie’s main plot revolves around how the Avengers and their allies must come together to save the world by bringing down the evil Thanos, who is on a mad quest to collect all the infinity stones so as to bring mass destruction to the universe.
The highly anticipated mega-blockbuster, delicious food and even better company made for a delightful evening enjoyed by all.
Spire shares insights on the growth of retail industry across Asia
21 April 2018
Spire Research and Consulting group’s Deputy Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Bahar was honored to be a guest speaker at the International Franchise Conference 2018. The conference was held on 21 April 2018 in Kuala Lumpur, organized by the Malaysian Franchise Association.
Jeffrey Bahar shared insights on the growth of the regional retail industry, focusing on key trends and the attractiveness of various emerging markets across Asia.
With global retail sales set to rise from USD25 trillion in 2018 to USD28 trillion in 2020, the Asia Pacific is expected to record USD10 trillion in retail sales by the end of 2018.
Bahar highlighted that Asian players were also among the top 250 global retailers in 2016, with China’s e-commerce player JD.com and Japan’s retailer Seven & I Holdings at the 28th and 20th rankings respectively.
With technology development, urbanization and the rise in working women, customers are demanding more innovative services, and retailers are responding. For example, Starbucks’ Reward App allows customers to redeem points to promote brand loyalty.
Jeffrey shared some interesting facts about the regional retail landscape. For example, the average Filipino dines out 42 times in a month (2015 figures), while 92% of Vietnamese shoppers still shop for groceries in-store, with beverages accounting for 40% of purchases.
Bahar’s presentation deck on “The new frontier: where to expand 2018-2020 and what’s happening around the world” can be found here.
Spire discusses the impact study of DiverseCity KLIAF 2017
24 March 2018
Spire Research and Consulting was invited to join the ‘Meet The Beneficiaries’ event organized by Yayasan myNADI with Prime Minister Dato’ Sri Haji Mohammad Najib bin Abdul Razak as the guest of honor. The presentation was held on 24 March 2018 at Putrajaya with over 600 guests – mostly beneficiaries.
Datuk Dr Jeyaindran Tan Sri Sinnadurai, Chairman of Yayasan myNADI discussed the impact study of DiverseCity International Kuala Lumpur Festival (KLIAF) 2017 jointly conducted by Spire Research and Consulting and the Nottingham University Business School.
Jeffrey Bahar (Regional Advisory, Deputy Chief Executive Officer), Yap Far Loon (Lead Consultant), Haries Salim (Assistant Manager) and Nathalia Setiawan (Senior Consultant) joined the beneficiary event as supporters of KLIAF.
Datin Sunita Rajkumar, the festival director of KLIAF, briefed and handed a copy of KLIAF’s Post Event report to Prime Minister Dato’ Sri Najib.
A breakfast seminar on partnering Vietnamese firms jointly held by Spire and YCG
15 March 2018
On 15 March, Spire and Yamada Consulting Group (YCG) jointly organized a breakfast seminar in Singapore for Japanese speakers, to share insights on Mergers & Acquisition (M&A) deals in Vietnam and investment trends for market entry. An English language seminar on the same theme was held the next day. The speakers were Leon Perera, Chief Executive Officer of Spire Research and Consulting, Eiji Asano, incoming Director for YCG Vietnam and Hafidz Omar, Senior Manager at Spire Research and Consulting.
The speakers discussed the impact of growing Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) as well as the keen interest in Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) in Vietnam.
Vietnam’s economy racked up a USD15 billion positive trade balance from 2015 with manufacturing, metals and textiles as the top export industries. Most of Vietnam’s FDI came from Asian countries like the Republic of Korea, China and Singapore.
The speakers discussed pull factors for investors, like competitive labour costs, improving infrastructure and the government’s growing reputation for good macro-economic policy. However, obstacles such as an inadequate legal system, language barriers, complicated tax procedures and limited sources of raw materials remain as impediments.
Nonetheless, 69.5% of Japanese enterprises globally were keen on investing in Vietnam.
The quantity and quality of Vietnamese companies that can be partners to international investors is growing. Larger Vietnamese firms have invested in over 63 countries abroad, with Laos as the largest destination.
Key industry sectors include textile and garments, with export revenues of USD31 billion in 2017; and the construction sector, which saw domestic revenues of USD24 billion in 2015.
In addition, the automotive sector is projected to hit 800,000 to 900,000 vehicles (units) sold each year by 2025.
E-commerce retail sales are also expected to reach USD10 billion by 2022.
While the number of M&A deals is growing, many Vietnamese acquirers have struggled with post-merger integration.
Spire hosts a session on Indonesia’s online grocery sector at Internet Retailing EXPO Indonesia 2018
24 January 2018
Spire Research and Consulting group’s Deputy Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Bahar was honored to be appointed as moderator at the Internet Retailing EXPO Indonesia 2018, organized by Clarion Events. The summit was held on 26 January 2018 in Jakarta. It discussed growth opportunities for Indonesia’s online grocery sector.
Jeffrey Bahar, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the Spire Research and Consulting group, moderated the discussion panel on measuring the growth of e-commerce for Food & Beverage brands in Indonesia.
The growth of online grocery sales in Indonesia and comparison to Southeast Asia markets were discussed, with retail giants such as PepsiCo, Nestlé Indonesia and Mondelēz International sharing their insights.