Lao authorities in cooperation with the Lao Women’s Union have successfully assisted two young women who became victims of human trafficking.
Vientiane Rezones Over 20 Villages into New District
Some 24 villages in Vientiane’s Xaythany District are being rezoned under the administration of Vientiane Capital’s newly created Danxangmixay District.
China Dongxiang Announces Annual Results FY2020/2021 Revenue Increases by 27.8% to RMB1,970 Million
Direct Franchised Reform Bears Fruit
Overall Business Achieved Healthy and Stable Development
Results Highlights
(RMB million) |
For the twelve months ended 31 March |
||
FY2021 |
FY2020 |
Change |
|
Revenue |
1,970 |
1,541 |
+27.8% |
Gross profit (before reversal of/ provision for impairment of inventories) |
1,292 |
1,023 |
+26.3% |
Gross profit margin (before reversal of/ provision for impairment of inventories) |
65.6% |
66.4% |
-0.8ppt |
Operating profit |
2,070 |
530 |
+290.6% |
Operating profit excluding gains of investment segment |
59 |
-18 |
N/A |
Profit attributable to owners of the Company |
1,811 |
366 |
+394.8% |
Basic earnings per share (RMB cents) |
30.88 |
6.25 |
+394.1% |
Recommended total dividend per share (RMB cents) |
10.77 |
4.36 |
+147.0% |
HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach – 23 June 2021 – The leading international sportswear brand enterprise in the PRC, China Dongxiang (Group) Co., Ltd. (“China Dongxiang” or “the Company”, together with its subsidiaries, “the Group”, HKEx stock code: 3818), announces its annual results for the twelve months ended 31 March 2021 (the “Reporting Period”). The Group’s revenue reached RMB1,970 million for the Reporting Period, representing a growth of 27.8% year-on-year (yoy). Profit attributable to owners of the Company was RMB1,811 million, representing an increase of 394.8% yoy. Basic earnings per share increased by 394.1% yoy to RMB30.88 cents. The Board of Directors has proposed to distribute 35% of the profit attributable to owners of the Company for the twelve months ended 31 March 2021 as full-year dividend.
Operational Highlights
Intensive cultivation focusing on China market
During the Reporting Period, domestic consumer sentiments gradually improved as the pandemic has come under control, accelerating the growth of new trend in online purchasing. The Group seized the opportunities with the implementation of delicacy operation in three dimensions of big logistics, retail localization and product sales, strengthening management of localized sales teams, driving digitalization of the omni-channel and uplifting the professional competence of product management teams. It further speeded up inventory turnover of omni-channel, enhanced channel control and swiftly responded to market, bringing great improvement in operational efficiency. During the Reporting Period, the Group reported stable growth in the performance of outlet stores and shopping malls. As at 31 March 2021, the Group had a total of 1,170 Kappa stores (excluding Kappa Kid’s stores), representing a net increase of 41 stores as compared to last year.
Delivering brand connotation by focusing on minority sports activities
In terms of brand marketing, the Group continued its cross-sector collaboration with IP and celebrities, incorporating latest trends and cultural ideas into the brand, delivering the brand spirit of “Never Settling for the Mediocre; Never Compromise”. This included the Halloween AI Series in collaboration with young domestic artist Cao Yu (曹羽); teamed up with Mak Ling Ling, a well-known Feng Shui master in Hong Kong, to launch the 2021 CNY “Kappa Fortune” series, increasing its brand exposure. The Group will swift its brand focus back to sports and target the younger generation as its customer group. Focusing on niche and high-end sports, the Group partnered with Chinese Equestrian Team, National Fencing Team and Skateboarding Team to open up opportunities arising in middle- to high-end sports market segment.
Embracing the new era with ongoing digitalized omni-channel model
With the pandemic gradually recovering and reviving customer traffic, the Group’s digitalization and omni-channel reform has become evident. During the Reporting Period, the Group’s e-commerce has achieved stable growth, with digitalization and omni-channel operation remained as its strategic focus. In addition to maintaining its competitiveness on mainstream platforms, the brand also actively explored new emerging platforms, such as Xiaohongshu, Pinduoduo and Douyin, demonstrating the Group’s versatile marketing strategies of targeting younger customer groups. On the other hand, the Group optimized its SCRM membership system, cloud storage and smart store system to facilitate the integration of omni-channel. E-commerce business recorded a 31.7% growth for the full year.
To better focus on its business in China market, subsequent to the disposal of the trademark of “Kappa” Japan in July 2020, the Group also decided to license the “Phenix” brand to franchised operators. This allows the Group to dedicate all of its resources and marketing efforts to the development of its core brand in China market.
Investment segment performs well with diversified portfolios to spread risk
During the Reporting Period, the Group reported a net asset value of RMB10,518 million for its investment segment, representing growth of 10.1% as compared to the same period last year, with investment gains amounted to RMB2,095 million. In the future, the Group believes that investment segment will generate stable and sustainable return for shareholders with prudent investment strategies and outstanding investment partners.
Mr. Chen Yihong, Chairman and Executive Director of China Dongxiang, said, “The pandemic brought enormous challenges to the industry, but also presented unprecedented opportunities to sportswear brands in China. The post-pandemic change in consumption preference has indirectly driven the demand for sportswear products. The Group successfully navigated the situation with the brand spirit of innovation and “Not Settling for the Mediocre”, achieving fruitful results. Looking forward, the Group is fully confident in the prospects of China’s economy and sportswear industry. With a number of international sporting events coming up, the Group will seize the market opportunities ahead, striving to achieve record-high results. The Group will continue to take profitability at the core, and collaborate with outstanding partners in quality projects with a global vision, generating stable and sustainable returns for our shareholders.”
About China Dongxiang (Group) Co., Ltd. (Stock code: 3818)
China Dongxiang (Group) Co., Ltd. is a leading international sportswear brand enterprise in China which has been listed on the Main Board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange since 10 October 2007. The Group is primarily engaged in the design, development, marketing and wholesale of branded sportswear in China. Currently, China Dongxiang owns all rights to the internationally renowned Kappa brand in Mainland China and Macau. Since April 2008, the Group became the owner of the brand Phenix. Phenix is a well-known skiing brand in the international market.
#ChinaDongxiang
Invasive Disease and Illness Linked to Consumption of Raw Freshwater Fish in Southeast Asia
Trend Micro Vision One Stops Threats Faster, Streamlines Operations and Cuts Costs
Customers have experienced 79% savings when consolidating vendors with an extended detection and response solution
HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach – 23 June 2021 – Trend Micro Incorporated (TYO: 4704; TSE: 4704), a global cybersecurity leader, today announced new analyst research that reveals organizations using Trend Micro Vision One, its extended detection and response (XDR) solution, benefit from enhanced security effectiveness, business enablement and cost reduction. Vendor consolidation, automation, more efficient triage and investigation and fewer successful attacks could enable cost savings of 63% for Trend Micro Vision One customers and 79% by leveraging Trend Micro’s Managed XDR service.
Access the full report from The Enterprise Strategy Group (ESG): Analyzing the Economic Benefits of Trend Micro Vision One here: https://resources.trendmicro.com/ESG-Economic-Validation-Report.html
Threat detection and response has become increasingly challenging as cyber risk continues to evolve. More sophisticated and widespread attacks combined with uncorrelated data, a general lack of visibility, and an overwhelming number of alerts puts security teams without XDR capabilities at risk.
ESG found that, “Organizations using the XDR capabilities of Trend Micro Vision One can eliminate siloed views and processes, reduce cybersecurity complexity, pursue new opportunities more confidently, and reduce spending on security products.”
“Once we ripped and replaced our previous solutions with Trend Micro, we saw immediate improvements in performance. I never looked back after that,” said Michael Perez, network administrator for Fabens Independent School District. “It has saved me unlimited amounts of time and money because we have not been successfully attacked. Since deploying Trend Micro solutions, we’ve been stronger than ever. Trend Micro was built to do security.”
Trend Micro Vision One goes beyond XDR by analyzing and correlating security telemetry from endpoints, servers, cloud workloads, emails, and networks—enabling SOC teams to prioritize and respond to threats more effectively. Current customers have benefitted from:
- Security effectiveness: “The reduction in complexity has led to a reduction in human-caused errors of over 25%. This gives us faster detection and remediation,” said VP/CISO of a medical supplies and services company.
- Business enablement: Eliminating siloed processes and views supports enhanced, streamlined operational efficiency, making it easier for organizations to take advantage of new opportunities without adding additional resources.
- Cost reduction: “Our overall product spend has gone down almost 50% when you look at all of the products that Trend Micro has replaced,” noted a CISO in the hospitality industry.
“Trend Micro Vision One empowers security teams with a centralized and powerful threat detection solution,” said Wendy Moore, vice-president, product marketing for Trend Micro, “Our XDR capabilities equip teams with the tools they need — making it easy for analysts to cut through the noise of complex campaigns deployed by malicious threat actors. ESG’s independent validation of our XDR approach provides confirmation that Trend Micro Vision One improves security posture, accelerates the speed of business and reduces cost.”
Trend Micro’s cybersecurity platform delivers security consolidation without sacrificing industry-leading protection across all layers. This approach offers the broad visibility and insights SOC teams need, while providing time efficiency through higher quality alerts. These benefits empower organizations to confidently invest in their digital transformation for long-term protection and success.
Research Methodology
This report leverages ESG’s custom research; knowledge of the industry, markets, and alternative technologies; expert analyst opinion; and review of third-party or internal testing. ESG conducted in-depth interviews with Trend Micro customers and reviewed customer case studies to better understand and quantify the positive outcomes experienced by organizations using XDR. From this research, ESG created an economic model based on a company with 2,000 employees accessing 3,400 devices.
About Trend Micro
Trend Micro, a global cybersecurity leader, helps make the world safe for exchanging digital information. Fueled by decades of security expertise, global threat research, and continuous innovation, Trend Micro’s cybersecurity platform protects hundreds of thousands of organizations and millions of individuals across clouds, networks, devices, and endpoints. As a leader in cloud and enterprise cybersecurity, the platform delivers a powerful range of advanced threat defense techniques optimized for environments like AWS, Microsoft, and Google, and central visibility for better, faster detection and response. With 7,000 employees across 65 countries, Trend Micro enables organizations to simplify and secure their connected world. www.trendmicro.com.hk
#TrendMicro
Laos Confirms Nine New Cases of Covid-19
Laos has confirmed nine new cases of Covid-19 today, including six cases of community spread in Vientiane Capital.
United States Announces Plan To Share 55 Million Doses of Covid-19 Vaccines
The United States has announced a plan to distribute 55 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines to a number of countries across Asia, including Laos.
72% of Asia Pacific Generation Zs, Millennials Aspire to Be Entrepreneurs – Herbalife Nutrition Survey
SINGAPORE – Media OutReach – 23 June 2021 – Premier global nutrition company, Herbalife Nutrition, unveiled findings from its 2021 Asia Pacific Young Entrepreneurs Survey today, which found that 72% of Generation Zs and Millennials in Asia Pacific aspire to have their own businesses. The survey showed that almost 9 out of 10 (87%) respondents believe that the best age to start a business is under 40 years old, with the average best age identified at 27 years old.
Herbalife Nutrition polled 4,093 people in the Generation Z and Millennial (aged 18 – 40) groups to examine entrepreneurship trends across eight countries i.e. Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Vietnam.
“Many aspiring entrepreneurs are driven by the prospect of following their passions, and desire to become their own bosses. They see their youth as a strength, especially when it comes to being technology savvy and having fresh ideas,” said Stephen Conchie, Senior Vice President and Managing Director, Herbalife Nutrition Asia Pacific.
However, a desire for entrepreneurship does not mean respondents are jumping into it: the average respondent said they believe someone should have five years of experience before starting their own business.
“Most respondents feel intimidated by their lack of experience, are concerned about business start-up costs, and the necessary financial and market knowledge. This is where learning good business fundamentals; having mentors, the right resources and a supportive community can help budding entrepreneurs to better navigate the uncertainties ahead. These important steps can improve their chances of success,” added Conchie.
Aspiring young entrepreneurs believe their age will help their chances for business success
87% of respondents believe that the best time to start a business is when they are still under the age of 40, with average prime age for starting a business at 27 years old. In addition, 54% of respondents believe that their age will help their chances of business success due to the following reasons:
- I’m better at adapting to new technology (61%)
- I’m more likely to embrace new technology (51%)
- I have fresh, unexplored ideas (44%)
Key reasons for entrepreneurship
When asked about the motivations for their entrepreneurship aspirations, the top reasons include following their passion (40%), becoming their own boss (39%), wanting more flexibility in their jobs (37%), supporting their families (36%), and wanting a career change (33%).
Cost, lack of financial and market knowledge holding entrepreneur hopefuls back
Respondents said the main challenges to starting a business are the initial costs (38%) and lack of financing and market knowledge support (35%). 68% said now is the best time to start their own business but they are intimidated by their own inexperience (70%) and feel overwhelmed by the prospect of starting a business (77%).
Training, financial resources and business tools can boost success
Among the respondents who already started their own business, 63% said they are still open during the pandemic. They listed more training and education (55%), additional financial resources (52%) and access to business tools (45%) as factors that will help them be more successful.
About Herbalife Nutrition
Herbalife Nutrition is a global company that has been changing people’s lives with great nutrition products and a proven business opportunity for its independent distributors since 1980. The Company offers high-quality, science-backed products, sold in over 90 countries by entrepreneurial distributors who provide one-on-one coaching and a supportive community that inspires their customers to embrace a healthier, more active lifestyle. Through the Company’s global campaign to eradicate hunger, Herbalife Nutrition is also committed to bringing nutrition and education to communities around the world. For more information, please visit IAmHerbalifeNutrition.com.
#HerbalifeNutrition