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New Retail Briefing #3: Walmart China Eyes Retail Innovation; A.S. Watson and Unilever Agree to New Retail Partnerships

Walmart China launched the Omega8 initiative in January 2019 to serve as a proof of concept (POC) platform that lets tech startups test newly designed technology applications in a real retail environment. Walmart reported over 50 startups signed up for the initiative. Walmart will train these companies in a variety of retail operation skills. Walmart said its existing 400 offline stores in China will act as testing grounds for startup technology before rolling out to mass market.

This Omega8 initiative shows Walmart’s ambition of leveraging tech startups for its own digital innovation, and understanding of the Chinese market. Ben Hassing, Senior Vice President of Walmart China said, “Walmart has worked with many technology startups not only to propel our business in China, but also to understand the Chinese market and China in greater depth.”

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Legacy UK Retailers Tesco and Marks & Spencer Think Radically to Expand Margins and Revive Revenue Growth

In a press release on January 29, Tesco confirmed plans to close fresh-food counters in around 90 stores, with 700 further stores retaining a “full or flexible” counter offer. It will also simplify stock management at store level, close store canteens and make job cuts at its head office. The company estimates that up to 9,000 roles could be impacted but it expects up to half of these people could be redeployed. 

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10 Retail Trends for 2019: Get Ready for Retail Reinvention

Get ready for better stores and better retailing. We expect 2019 to be a year of reinvention — and not just for the retail sector as a whole, but for physical stores in particular. As we outline over the following pages, we anticipate that the year will be marked by spectacular retail, fast retail and smart retail.

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10 Trends for China E-Commerce 2019

We expect 2019 will be a dynamic year for e-commerce in China. Consumers have high expectations and competition is stiffening. Here are 10 trends we think will shape China’s e-commerce landscape in 2019:

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