Ikea:
Ikea Malls Business division has announced last Thursday the acquisition of shops at Aura Mall in the center of Toronto Canada with the aim to shift towards inner Cities. The Aura mall owned by the private equity firm Kingsett Capital was struggling to attract tenants and drive footfall. For Ikea, this will be the first Urban format store in Canada.
Tesla and Bitcoin:
California-based Tesla disclosed its $1.5 billion investment in Bitcoin in February and said it intended to begin accepting the cryptocurrency as a form of payment. The world’s leading EV maker made the Bitcoin bet after updating its investment policy in January to allow it to buy digital assets. Tesla’s move into bitcoin represents an investment of a significant percentage of its cash in the investment. The company had more than $19 billion in cash and cash equivalents on hand at the end of 2020, according to its most recent filing.
UK:
The office of national statistics announced that online shopping share is set as a record high of 36.1%. the UK Retail sales in general has increased specially the outdoor furniture as more restriction will be lifted from this week onwards allowing people across the country to meet in gardens. The prime Minister Boris Johnson plans to allow groups of up to six people from today onwards.
Peloton:
The leading interactive fitness platform Peloton interactive has announced plans to launch in Australia, marking the brand’s entry to the Asia Pacific Region. Peloton’s official launch in Australia is slated for the second half of 2021, where consumers will be able to purchase the Peloton Bike and the Peloton Bike+ online or through the brand’s physical retail showrooms across key Australian cities, including Sydney and Melbourne.
Canal Suez :
Since Last Tuesday, Ever Given containers ship has been blocking one of the most strategic sea canals in the world. The Suez Canal is the trade link between Asia and Europe and with more than 20% of the global trade passing by this road. This accident will have a deep impact on retail products manufactured in China and Sold in the west. Some brands already expressed their concern of products shortage and looking for route alternatives to deal with the situation While the Canal authority has managed to refloat the ship today and confirmed a back to normal situation from tonight, this incident will drive many retailers to assess this risk and avoid any future impact on their businesses.
Smart Retail Tech Expo :
Despite the Covid-19 Pandemic and with the UK government efforts to control the virus spread through lockdown actions and vaccines, the plan for the Smart Retail Tech Expo is set for 09 and 10 of June this year. This exhibition during this special circumstances will include a physical presence of both exhibitors and visitors and by taking in consideration all safety measures applied by the authorities and the even organizer. Smart Retail Tech facilitates the opportunity for businesses to create the perfect customer journey, making both online and in store shopping more personal, tailored and engaging than ever before. Please save the date as Global Retail TV will be covering for your live from London Exhibition center EXCEL the key moments of Smart Retail Tech.
Disney :
The switch Era from physical stores to the e-commerce platforms is increasing dramatically. Disney is one of the global brands that decided to close 60 stores in both US and Canada from 23 of this month and improving the online shopping experience with the e-commerce platform, the Disney parks app as well the shopping integration with social media. Disney has implemented during in the past few years the Shop in Shop concept at key retailers like Target in the US and Alshaya Group Stores in the middle East. The partners shops on the other hand will continue driving sales and the Disney products experience.
Presented By: Jalal JIHAZI