Weekly Insights Mar 17, 2016

Executive Summary

• This week, the Fung Global Retail & Technology team attended panel discussions, met leaders from several startups and saw interesting products on display at the Interactive segment of the 2016 South by Southwest (SXSW) festival in Austin, Texas. The festival focuses on the convergence of music, film and emerging technologies.
• At the Bonobos shop on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, shoppers can survey racks of clothes, try on shirts and trousers, and then decide which items to purchase. But they cannot actually buy any clothes in the store, as Bonobos outlets have no stock to sell; the idea is to divorce the purchase of a product from its distribution.
• Canada’s Hudson’s Bay Company announced plans to invest €1 billion in Galeria Kaufhof, which it acquired last year, over the next five to seven years. The company is also reportedly aiming to open 40 new Saks Off 5th outlets in Germany.
• Cainiao, a three-year-old, Alibaba-backed logistics firm, has confirmed its maiden external funding round from Temasek and other investors. The company claims to have 128 warehouses and 180,000 express delivery stations in China that allow it to offer same-day delivery in seven Chinese cities and next-day delivery in a further 90.