FCCS Focus Spring 2011 by The French Chamber of Commerce in Singapore

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Focus

The Magazine of the French Chamber of Commerce in Singapore

Spring 2011

www.fccsingapore.com

Singapore Online

Customer Loyalty for Online Businesses | Creative Consumers and Ice-Creams | A Changing Digital Landscape | Is the â&#x20AC;&#x153;Mall Cultureâ&#x20AC;? a Threat to e-Commerce? | Online Marketing is Key

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FOCUS MAGAZINE

CONTENTS

May 2011

EDITORIAL

SHORT NEWS

Ibis Opens a Second Hotel in Singapore Lagardère Services launches 'The Fashion Gallery' at Changi T2 Opening of Danone Research Centre for Specialised Nutrition IPAL UMI CNRS - International Joint Research Unit Renewal A*Star Scientists Partner French Pharma to Develop Anti-Cancer Drugs SCOR and NTU establish Insurance Risk and Finance Research Centre EDHEC Asian Campus Opens With Alcatel-Lucent BSS/OSS Solution, OpenNet Consortium is on Track Singapore News

04 04 05 05 06 06 07 07 09

COVER STORY - SINGAPORE ONLINE

Air France KLM on the e-Commerce Strategy Customer Loyalty for Online Businesses Creative Consumers and Ice-creams A Changing Digital Landscape The Broad Scope of Online Marketing Understanding the Online Consumer Is the “Mall Culture” a Threat to e-Commerce? Bringing a New Concept to Singapore Launching a Shopping Club Create your Own Merchandising Breaking the Boundaries of Art Online Marketing is Key Bringing Provence Wines to Singapore with e-Commerce e-Learning, a Solution to Today’s Globalised World

12 14 15 16 17 18 20 21 23 24 25 26 28 29

FEATURE REPORT - SINGAPORE SPORTS HUB

Positioning Singapore as a Major Sports Hub in Asia Presentation of the New Complex Centre Sports Hub The Construction Sector in Singapore

30 32 33

FCCS HR & TRAINING SERVICES

FCCS BUSINESS SERVICES

They Rely on Us... and Testify on Our Services Newly Set Up Companies Through the FCCS Business Support Unit BuildTechAsia & InterdecAsia 2011 / Upcoming Exhibitions in Singapore Forum Travailler Ensemble Singapore

35 36 38 40

FCCS CLUB EVENTS

Asia Committee Energy & Environment Committee Entrepreneurs Committee Finance Committee Legal & Tax Committee HR Committee Luxury & Retail Committee R&D Committee ICT Committee Marketing & Communication Committe Networking Events FCCS New Members FCCS Privilege Card

42 44 45 46 46 47 47 49 50 51 52 54 56

SHORT NEWS

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French Companies in Singapore

May 2011

A*Star Scientists Partner French Pharma to Develop Anti-Cancer Drugs that Nip Breast Cancer in the Bud A*STAR’s Singapore Immunology Network (SIgN) has inked a Research Collaboration Agreement (RCA) with Servier, the second largest French pharmaceutical company in the world. The collaboration aims to develop anti-cancer drugs to suppress Tumor-Initiating Cells (TICs), often called “cancer stem cells”. By targeting TICs, scientists hope to be able to prevent relapse and metastatic outgrowth in cancer patients. Under this three-year partnership, SIgN and Servier aim to develop drugs directed at restricting the growth of TICs in breast cancer –

the most common cancer in women all over the world, and also in Singapore with about 1,100 new cases diagnosed each year. Scientists at SIgN, with their expertise in tumour immunology and therapeutic antibodies, will be able to isolate TIC-specific human monoclonal antibodies, and with the help of Servier, develop them into anti-cancer drugs, accordinbg to an A*STAR report. As Associate Professor Jean-Pierre Abastado, Principal Investigator of SIgN that will head the lab for this SIgN-Servier collaboration, said, “Scientists and clinicians have been trying to understand why cancer relapse occurs in spite of the removal of the primary tumor. Basic research conducted at SIgN has shown that cancer relapse could potentially be avoided by controlling TICs. Our task at hand is to discover the monoclonal antibodies that will target these TICs.” Dr Emmanuel Canet, MD PhD, Head of Research & Development at Servier added, “This partnership exemplifies our vision to collaborate with leading scientists worldwide to discover and develop innovative medicines in the field of cancer where the medical need is still huge. We have been very impressed by the quality of the research work done at the Singapore Immunology Network (SIgN), which we believe is one of the best such institutes in the world.” F

SCOR and Nanyang Technological University Establish Insurance Risk & Finance Research Centre SCOR has entered into an agreement with the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) of Singapore to establish an Insurance Risk and Finance Research Centre at the Nanyang Business School (NBS). The Centre aims to promote applied research in insurance and related risks and to establish a platform for research projects and dialogue specific to the Asia-Pacific region. NTU is recognised throughout the world, particularly for its expertise and research in the fields of insurance and actuarial studies. NBS counts among the best business schools in the AsiaPacific region and is also highly reputed for its research.

Nanyang is fully in line with our long-term commitment to support research and the science of risk, a policy held by the Group for many years. Through its numerous scientiﬁc partnerships and the creation of the SCOR Global Risk Centre, SCOR plays a determining role in the promotion and spread of knowledge regarding the science of risk. This agreement also highlights the Group’s desire to create centres of expertise within its various Hubs and notably in the Asia-Paciﬁc region.” F

The agreement was officially signed on 31 March by Professor Gillian Yeo, Interim Dean of NBS, and Julien Carmona, Chief Operating Officer of SCOR. The members of the Advisory Board governing the Centre are Mr Jean-Luc Besson (Director SCOR Asia-Pacific), Mr Michel Dacorogna (Deputy CRO of SCOR), Ben Ho (CEO SCOR Asia-Pacific), Professor Shaun Wang (Georgia State University), Professor Gillian Yeo and Professor Jun-Koo Kang (Head of NBS’ Banking & Finance division). Mr Julien Carmona, Chief Operating Officer of SCOR, said: “The establishment of this Centre in partnership with the University of

Professor Gillian Yeo, Interim Dean, NBS, and Mr Julien Carmona, COO, SCOR.

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COVER STORY

May 2011

Singapore Online

The Broad Scope of Online Marketing Interview with Thierry Vandewalle, Managing Director, Publicis Modem Asia-Paciﬁc

Thierry Vandewalle has been appointed Managing Director of Publicis Modem Asia-Paciﬁc – tasked to drive further the digital network's positive momentum in the region. He will have a particular focus on the fast growing Chinese market where he will be Managing Director of Publicis Modem China in addition to his regional duties.

HOW EFFECTIVE IS ONLINE ADVERTISING IN COMPARISON WITH OTHER ADVERTISING FORMAT? There should be no comparison or antagonism between online and ofﬂine advertising. It is a matter of effective strategies and non effective strategies, and of mix of online and ofﬂine channels. Because of the social nature of the online landscape – it is more than a medium, it is a territory where people discuss, buy, get informed, play, meet each other and overall, interact – a good communication strategy should be based on content and engagement instead of top down marketing messages. The challenge for brands is to provide their audience with content that is interesting enough to create social currency for people to share with their peers. This can only be achieved by providing content that has an emotional or functional value, through pervasive story telling, or by organising co-creation and crowdsourcing. People love to be involved. By reaching these objectives through all the relevant communication platforms and mediums available, then, yes, your ad will be very effective in the short and long term. ONLINE MARKETING IS MAINLY SEEN AS A B2C TOOL, CAN IT ALSO SERVE B2B OBJECTIVES? Absolutely! Connection rates are even higher, and online communication is extremely effective in the B2B space. But the way brands advertise for their B2B crowd should not be very different from the way they engage their B2C audience. Here again, it’s all about sharing relevant content as opposed to mere messages. The

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A good communication strategy should be based on content.

”

objective should still be to spread quality content people can relate to or that they will deem worthy of being shared with their own ecosystem of fans and followers. Speciﬁcally in B2B, I would trust more a company providing a lot of interesting content on a speciﬁc subject – and then somehow demonstrating its expertise and knowledge – than one that would just claim being the best via advertisements, whatever the medium used. WHAT IS THE FUTURE OF DIGITAL MARKETING?

Which brings us to geo-localisation or geo-targeted content with people receiving push messages on their mobile about their immediate environment (promo, opening hours or specific services), which represents an evident opportunity for bricks and mortar businesses. Those notifications will become increasingly targeted through providers or social networks, as it is starting to be the case with Foursquare or Facebook Places. F BOTTOM Thierry Vandewalle, Managing Director, Publicis Modem Asia-Pacific

Do you mean what is the future of marketing? Digital marketing is inseparable from marketing. We can expect people to interact even more, using the new tools that will appear (we are only at the very beginning of the online revolution: Facebook was created only a few years ago). The increase in mobile usage will certainly be a major trend, with more people using interactive features and being connected to internet via their mobile. Because they will expect to be able to access the same kind of information that they can currently ﬁnd when browsing the web on their laptop – be it entertainment, or information – there is a huge opportunity for brands to be present in those new moment of mobile content consumption.

FOCUS MAGAZINE

FEATURE REPORT

May 2011

Singapore Sports Hub

The Construction Sector in Singapore Interview with Ludwig Reichhold, Managing Director of Dragages Singapore

Dragages Singapore is part of Bouygues Construction, one of the foremost construction groups in the world. Dragages has been active in Asia for more than a century and currently employs close to 4,000 people in the region. It has developed a leading role in Singapore's construction industry, establishing a strong reputation for quality, efﬁciency and innovation.

greenﬁeld project in Singapore, and Dragages has received the Green and Gracious Builder Award by the Building and Construction Authority in 2010. ACCORDING TO YOU, ARE THERE STILL OPPORTUNITIES FOR FRENCH CONSTRUCTION COMPANIES IN THIS MARKET? There are plenty of opportunities in the Singapore market for all those who understand the environment and have something meaningful to contribute. French companies have an edge in all areas of design, engineering and technology, be it in construction, in industry or in services. The challenge for us is to develop those technologies within the Asian environment, making the best use of local resources, to ensure that we are proposing relevant and cost effective solutions.

WHAT ARE THE CURRENT AND FUTURE PROJECTS FOR DRAGAGES IN SINGAPORE AND IN THE REGION? We are currently delivering two residential projects in Singapore and starting two new ones. At the same time we are mobilising the construction team on the Sports Hub where demolition was completed in March and foundation work is now in full swing. We are also very active in Vietnam on a large commercial and residential development in the heart of Ho Chi Minh City. With Asia becoming the main growth engine of the world, we will be focusing even more on the region. Singapore is an ideal base for development in Asia Paciﬁc. We will continue to build on our past successes with a pragmatic approach. We are looking forward to a lot of new challenges in the region in the coming years. F

SINGAPORE IS PUSHING THE CONSTRUCTION SECTOR TO BE GREENER. WHAT ARE THE INITIATIVES CONDUCTED BY DRAGAGES IN GREEN BUILDING? Dragages welcomes and supports the Government’s initiatives in sustainable construction and development which are in line with Dragages’ and Bouygues’ corporate policies worldwide. We are trying to lead the way by proposing innovative products, technologies and construction methods to our clients, allowing them the progress faster in this area. All our projects in Singapore are Green Mark certified, with most of them reaching the Platinum level. Dragages is consistently promoting new technologies in Singapore, such as solar chillers and cooling storage. As a result one of our projects has been awarded last year the first LEED Gold certificate for a

FOCUS MAGAZINE

FCCS CLUB EVENTS

May 2011

R&D Committee

Maximising Value via Spin-Offs at A*STAR Technology Transfer management and IP sharing are sensitive issues. Our speaker, Mr Anand Govindaluri, Senior Vice President & Head of the Investment & SpinOff Management (ISM) Division at Exploit Technologies, A*STAR, presented Exploit Technologies’ policy in this speciﬁc ﬁeld. Exploit Technologies, the strategic marketing and commercialisation arm of the

Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) Singapore, manages and consolidates all research institutes' intellectual properties under one roof as a one-stop centre for research institutes, industries and enterprises. Exploit Technologies provides access to Singapore's large pool of intellectual property and knowledge generated by over 2,000 researchers at A*STAR's research institutes. F

Singapore Policy in Science and Technology Mr Walid Benzarti, Attaché for Science & Higher Education, French Embassy, gave a detailed and comprehensive overview of Singapore policy in Science and Technology. His presentation provided with the main facts and ﬁgures related to national public

and private funding, scientific thrusts as well as an overview of the human resources capabilities in the field. This work also discussed the organisation of the R&D system in Singapore presenting the different key players in Research, the private sector role and the government objectives for the five upcoming years. F

Joint Meeting with SGC: Visit to EADS IW For the ﬁrst time, the R&D Committee of the FCCS had a joint meeting with the R&D Committee of the Singaporean-German Chamber of Industry and Commerce (SGC). The meeting was arranged at the premises of the research centre network for EADS. The building is owned by Eurocopter, the world's leading helicopter manufacturer at the Seletar Aerospace Park. Teams from EADS and Eurocopter

informed participants about their organisational structures and their research, design and innovation capabilities. They also shared their collaborations in Singapore with partners such as A*STAR, NUS, NTU and other research institutions. As the presentation ended, guests were toured by EADS (Innovation Works and Eurocopter) to the Eurocopter facilities. The

visit started at the helicopter hanger, where a number of ordered helicopters were being ﬁtted with the necessary add-ons, as per customer requests. Participants could also experience the helicopter ﬂying simulator. The two R&D groups decided to explore future collaborations and will be meeting in a steering group to discuss topics and site visits. F

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FCCS PATRON MEMBERS

FOCUS MAGAZINE

May 2011

The French Chamber of Commerce in Singapore would like to thank its Patron Members for their continuous support.

FCCS Focus Magazine is published by the French Chamber of Commerce in Singapore (FCCS). The views and opinions expressed in its columns do not necessarily reflect those of the FCCS members and management.

director of publication Carine Lespayandel chief editor Nicolas Avril design & layout Florence Baret advertising Nicolas Avril Florence Baret Gina Moulay-Aubry colour separation & printing NPE Print Communications Pte Ltd

Spring 2011 4,000 copies MICA (P) N째045/09/2010

THE FRENCH CHAMBER OF COMMERCE IN SINGAPORE 541 Orchard Road #09-01 Liat Towers Singapore 238881 Tel: +65 6735 5523 Fax: +65 6735 5394 www.fccsingapore.com info@fccsingapore.com

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FOCUS MAGAZINE

EDITORIAL

May 2011

Singapore Online A

sia has the biggest market potential in almost every industry but does that also include e-commerce? Online shopping has become almost a part of life. The Web allows consumers the power they never had before. It provides them with a new vision and access to a fuller range of brand information thus changing their purchasing behaviour and expectations.

strategy? These are also questions that often come up. In Singapore, more than anywhere else, constant investment & innovation are its key focus. As an illustration, Waseda University ranked Singapore in the top position for 2011 for the third year running in its e-Government Ranking. In our cover story, you will discover examples of a few French e-entrepreneurs & multinationals that have successfully developped e-Commerce recipes in one of the most bourgeoning business environment.

The new digital marketing landscape goes beyond the boundaries of traditional media. Now, also enhanced by social tools and platforms, it plays a signiﬁcant role in creating brand perception, enhancing an online experience as well as inﬂuencing the purchasing decision of consumers.

Hélène Toury

An online storefront allows businesses to reach out to a worldwide audience. However, to identify and reach their online and ofﬂine business goals, retailers can no longer ignore the social web.

Marketing & Communications Manager, Veolia Water Solutions & Technologies Asia Industrial; Marketing & Communication Committee, The French Chamber of Commerce in Singapore

Competition on price, products differentiation, retention, customer loyalty; how can these challenges be addressed? In what way can the brand develop a deeper relationship with its customer? How does it sit within a social media

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FOCUS MAGAZINE

SHORT NEWS

May 2011

French Companies in Singapore

Ibis Opens a Second Hotel in Singapore ibis Singapore Novena, the latest addition to Accor, welcomed its ﬁrst guest on 2 April. The hotel is the second ibis hotel in Singapore and has been ardently welcomed in the market with corporate and individual bookings for both mid and long-term stays.

“The Singapore Tourism Board expects 12 to 13 million visitors to arrive in Singapore in 2011 resulting in a strong demand for centrally located, quality yet affordable accommodations. ibis Singapore Novena is ideally positioned to meet this demand and has evidenced through our current bookings; we expect the hotel to become a favourite among visitors from neighbouring countries such as Malaysia, Philippines and Indonesia, as well as longer haul markets,” said Ms Shamila Rolfe, General Manager, ibis Singapore Novena. ibis Singapore Novena sports 241 modern rooms equipped with a 32-inch LCD TV, complimentary broadband and Wi-Fi Internet access, in-room safe and a large bay window. It also provides an in-house coin-operated laundrette and a well equipped ﬁtness centre. Foodies may also sample pork and lard free Asian and Western cuisines at the Oopen Pasta & Grill Restaurant.

“The opening of the second ibis hotel in Singapore marks another important milestone for the ibis brand in this part of the world. It demonstrates our commitment to further strengthen our position as a leading player in the economy hotel sector in Singapore and throughout Southeast Asia,” added Michael Issenberg, Chairman and Chief Operating Ofﬁcer, Accor Asia Paciﬁc. F

IBIS Novena Standard Room

Lagardère Services Launches The Fashion Gallery at Changi T2 Lagardère Services Asia Pacific (LS ASPAC) just opened The Fashion Gallery: a specialist, luxury-brand fashion store at Changi Airport, Singapore - one of Asia-Paciﬁc's prime gateways.

The store has a very stylish design with brands presented in customised brand zones around a main walkway, deﬁned by contemporary lighting, and making the store easy to shop and navigate.

Located in Departure Lounge North in Terminal 2, the 764 m2 The Fashion Gallery store is one of the region's largest multi-brand airport fashion outlets. Created to provide an exceptional fashion shopping experience, the stylish and elegant store showcases a range of 17 internationally-renowned luxury designer fashion brands. Each brand has been carefully selected to meet the desires of the luxury shoppers among the 12 million international passengers travelling through Changi T2 every year.

To enhance the shopping experience, staff at The Fashion Gallery are trained in sales techniques, language courses and have intensive product knowledge, having followed the ISO 9001 accredited OSCAR training programme.

The Fashion Gallery at Changi T2

Emmanuel de Place, COO Lagardère Services, with responsibility for Lagardère Services ASPAC, says: "The Fashion Gallery is an exciting breakthrough for Lagardère Services in the region. It fully demonstrates our wealth of expertise and knowledge in high-end and luxury retailing and our ability to create exceptional fashion experiences. We are delighted to be celebrating its launch with our partners at Changi Airport, and to be complementing Changi's formidable reputation for its exciting retail offer."

"At Lagardère Services, we are committed to understanding, engaging and satisfying shoppers by creating exciting retail concepts that deliver exceptional results for ourselves and our business partners. Working closely with our sister company Aelia, blending our global and local expertise, we believe we have created an innovative and exciting fashion experience for the discerning Changi shopper." F

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SHORT NEWS

May 2011

French Companies in Singapore

Opening of Danone Research Centre for Specialised Nutrition Danone Baby Nutrition, a leader in baby and child nutrition, announced on 1 April the opening of a Research Centre for Specialised Nutrition at Singapore's Biopolis Research Park. The Danone Research Centre for Specialised Nutrition is the first in Asia Pacific to focus fully on child and maternal health, especially the impact of nutrition on gut bacteria, immune system and the overall growth and development of babies and children, to ensure the best start in life. The 20+ scientists at the new Danone Research Centre for Specialised Nutrition are directly connected to the 50+ Danone Baby Nutrition development experts in the Asia Pacific region. They are expected to provide excellence in science and support local innovations. They have completed four clinical studies, are in the process of carrying out three clinical studies and expect to commence more than five clinical studies in the region this year. Mrs Florence Jeantet, Vice President R&D, Danone Baby Nutrition, said: "Our mission is to provide state-of-the-art products, based on the latest science, to help babies and children achieve healthy growth and the best start in life. We are assisted by our

Mrs Eline Van Der Beek, Danone Baby Nutrition AP Research Director; Mr Pascal De Petrini, Danone Baby Nutrition AP VP; HE Olivier Caron, French Ambassador to Singapore; Mr Julian Ho. Assistant MD Singapore EDB; Mrs Florence Jeantet - Danone Baby Nutrition R&D VP

partners in leading universities, hospitals and research institutions around the world. Our new research centre in Singapore is closely connected to our R&D headquarters in Wageningen, The Netherlands, and together, we will reach out to leading scientiﬁc teams and medical experts in the region to promote child and maternal health in Asia Paciﬁc and worldwide." F

IPAL UMI CNRS - International Joint Research Unit Renewal The French National Centre for Scientiﬁc Research (Centre National de la Recherche Scientiﬁque – CNRS) ties up with Singapore’s and French Research Agencies and Universities to develop innovative healthcare tools In Singapore

the agreement, beside the traditional partners: the CNRS, the Institute for Infocomm Research (I²R), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), the National University of Singapore (NUS) and the Université Joseph Fourier (UJF).

IPAL (Image, Pervasive Access Lab) international joint lab – CNRS International joint research unit (UMI CNRS) – entered in its next development phase marked by the addition of Université Pierre et Marie Curie (UPMC) and Institut Telecom (IT) as new parties to

IPAL opens a window for French scientists and engineers to understand the dynamic and vibrant research culture and operations in a high-growth Southeast Asia economy such as Singapore and to bridge to other Southeast Asian nations. This, in turn, creates tremendous opportunities for both countries in the development of intellectual property related to infocomm, media and engineering in the form of high-quality international publications, innovative research prototypes, copyrights and patents.

Prof Francis JUTAND (Scientiﬁc Director, Institut Telecom, France), Prof Jean-Charles POMEROL (President, Université Pierre et Marie Curie, France), Prof Seeram RAMAKRISHNA (VP, NUS), Mr Olivier CARON (Ambassador of France to Singapore), Prof Pierre GUILLON (Scientiﬁc Director, INSIS, CNRS, France), Prof Yassine LAKHNECH (VP, Université Joseph Fourier, France), and Prof LYE Kin Mun (Executive Director, I²R).

A signing ceremony was held on 8 February 2011 to formalise the partnership. Under the agreement, I²R will work with their collaborators in the areas of Medical Image Understanding and Pervasive Access & Wellbeing Management. These are leading edge infocomm technologies, which once developed, will beneﬁt the healthcare industry in Singapore and France. F

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SHORT NEWS

French Companies in Singapore

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May 2011

Professor Gillian Yeo, Interim Dean, NBS, and Mr Julien Carmona, COO, SCOR.

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SHORT NEWS

May 2011

French Companies in Singapore

EDHEC Asian Campus Opens The EDHEC Business School Singapore executive campus was ofﬁcially inaugurated in January 2011.

“We see Asia as a strong region for growth in the investment industry. However, there is currently very little research done on Asian ﬁnancial markets and investors”, said Professor Frédéric Ducoulombier, director of EDHEC Risk Institute-Asia.

This new Singapore executive campus is the base for EDHEC Risk Institute-Asia, which will be developing new EDHEC Business School Singapore Campus research and academic programmes. As for the latter, the Institute will be offering its PhD in finance, the part-time MSc in risk and investment management for young professionals and finance executives as well as training seminars for the financial industry. His Excellency Olivier Caron underlined that the School's presence added to another important strand in the deepening relationship between France and Singapore: “I congratulate Dean Olivier Oger, Professor Noël Amenc and Professor Frédéric Ducoulombier for this unique initiative. As a leading business school in Europe, EDHEC could be a major actor in bridging the gap between the financial industries in Asia and research”, said Ambassador of France to Singapore.

EDHEC Risk Institute-Asia also established strong partnerships with ﬁnancial institutions such as Deutsche Bank, Axa Investment Managers, Amundi ETF, Société Générale Corporate and Investment Banking and derivatives exchange Eurex. According to Mr Thibaud De Vitry, Global Head of Investment Solutions of Axa Investment Managers, EDHEC is a premium institution in Europe for its research in ﬁnance and has a unique expertise in fostering the relationship between academia and industry. Mr Olivier Oger, EDHEC's dean, added that the school will be soon inaugurating new facilities of its London executive campus and is about to set up another one in the United States. F

With Alcatel-Lucent BSS/OSS Solution, OpenNet Consortium is on Track to Bring Optical Fiber to Every Home and Office in Singapore OpenNet consortium, the Network Company (NetCo) of Singapore’s Next Generation National Broadband Network (Next Gen NBN), has committed to deploy fiber to every home and office in Singapore. With the help of Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris and NYSE:ALU), OpenNet has achieved its target of 60% nationwide coverage by 2010, and is on track to reach 95% by 2012. Meeting this target completes the second phase of their fiber network rollout. Alcatel-Lucent’s Business and Operations Support Systems (BSS/OSS) is an important component in contributing to this achievement. The BSS/OSS will enable OpenNet to be fully automated in its network operations. This is the first time that a single systems integrator has provided an entire end-to-end BSS/OSS solution for a telco in an NBN environment.

“Congratulations to OpenNet on this major milestone. It is a signiﬁcant step towards the successful rollout of Singapore's Next Gen NBN,” said Rajeev Singh-Molares, president of AlcatelLucent’s activities in Asia-Paciﬁc. “We are committed to providing OpenNet with unique expertise combining IT, OSS/BSS, network integration, service delivery platforms (SDP) and multi-vendor application integration. This is a large deployment on an aggressive schedule, and we look forward to working with OpenNet on the successful completion of this project.”

The solution provided OpenNet with an open access environment which allows them to provide vital services and handling interactions with other Operating Companies (OpCos) and Qualifying Parties (QPs). Alcatel-Lucent is a global leader in OSS/BSS and SDP, serving more than 250 customers worldwide in 80 countries. F

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SHORT NEWS

May 2011

Singapore News

Singapore in the Top 10 Destinations for Luxury and Business Fashion Brands Worldwide According to an annual survey by CB Richard Ellis, Singapore attracted 69% of the global luxury and business fashion brands surveyed.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong has maintained its position as the most popular destination for luxury retailers worldwide, attracting 84% of the luxury brands covered.

pore, Letty Lee, said the Singapore growth story continues to be a big deciding factor for luxury and fashion retailers, lured by the prospect of a continuous stream of spenders both local and abroad.

CBRE said Tokyo and Beijing also feature in the top 10, conﬁrming that Asia continues to be a key target for luxury brands, with many retailers opening in multiple locations and developing ﬂagship stores to market their brand.

She added that the integrated resorts (IRs) and the surrounding Marina Bay Shoppes which opened last year played a big part in boosting Singapore's reputation as a luxury and business fashion destination. F

Director of Retail Services at CBRE Singa-

Source: Channel News Asia, 13 April 2011

The Greenest City in Asia Asian Green City Index Well Above Average

Singapore

Above Average

Hong Kong Osaka Seoul Taipei Tokyo Yokohama

Average

Bangkok Beijing Delhi Canton Jakarta Kuala Lumpur Nanjing Shanghai Wuhan

Below Average

Well Below Average

Bangalore Hanoi Calcutta Manila Mumbay

Karachi

The study, which was carried out by the Economist Intelligence Unit with data collected between April and June last year, assessed cities in 8 categories and 29 sub-categories. Singapore scored a 'Well Above Average' in the waste and water categories, and an 'Above Average' in the energy and carbon dioxide, land use and buildings, transport, sanitation, air quality and environmental governance categories.

The report noted that Singapore produces 307 kg of waste per person annually, lower than the index average of 380 kg. While Singapore might have a higher-than-average consumption of water – 309 litres per person per day compared to the average of 278 litres – it has the second lowest leakage rate, at 5%, against the average of 22%. F Source: The Business Times, 21 February 2011

The Most Enterprising Asian Economy GEDI (Global Entrepreneurship and Development Index) places Singapore 15 in a ranking of 71 of 'the most important countries in the world', when it comes to savviness in risktaking, spotting and seizing opportunities, and starting and growing businesses.

Singapore is ranked above South Korea (20), Hong Kong (23), Japan (29), Malaysia (31), China (40), Indonesia (46), India (53), Thailand (56) and the Philippines (70).

has some of the world's most vibrant hightechnology industries, and developed economies like Germany (16), France (18) and Italy (27). F

It also ranks higher than Israel (21), which

Source: The Business Times, 21 March 2011

The Electronic Industry Achieved Record High in 2010 Singapore's Economic Development Board (EDB) said 2010 was a record year for the electronic industry. Singapore's electronic manufacturing output grew 26.9% to reach S$89.9 billion, surpassing global industry growth of 9.3%.

The industry also attracted S$5.8 billion in ﬁxed asset investment commitments and S$1.9 billion in total business spending. EDB said this will result in more than 2,600 jobs in the next few years. F Source: EDB, 6 April 2011

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FOCUS MAGAZINE

May 2011

Singapore Online

COVER STORY

Singapore Online

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COVER STORY

May 2011

Singapore Online

Air France KLM on the e-Commerce Strategy By Chloé Marchand, Commercial Director for Singapore, Indonesia, Australia and New Zealand, Air France KLM

E-Commerce has known major developments in Asia and the online travel industry is today one of the most important online shopping activities boosted by the low-cost business model. High internet penetration rates and credit card usage have triggered the development of e-commerce in Asia making online shopping even more accessible and easy to use within a safe and secure environment. The Asia Pacific online leisure/unmanaged business travel market in 2009 totaled $35.7B, representing an overall penetration of 18%. By end 2011, roughly a quarter of all travel bookings in APAC will be booked online. The development of online business worldwide together with economic and environmental challenges greatly impacted the

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By end 2011, roughly a quarter of all travel bookings in APAC will be booked online.

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business model adopted by Air France KLM. Our distribution strategy at Air France KLM today is focused on two main axes: offering customers a choice on where to buy their ticket – multi-channel approach – and maximising margin for each distribution channel – indirect and direct, offline and online. Within this framework, the direct online channel represents a very customer-centric and the most cost-efficient distribution channel for Air France KLM. This

channel works hand in hand with the direct offline channel – our services and sales centre – offering web support and reservation services when needed. Online, Air France KLM aims at: - optimising usability and attractiveness of airfrance.com and klm.com; - attracting online visitors; - converting visitors in e-bookers. Ease of use, attractiveness, and conversion rates are improved thanks to a sharp collaboration between marketing, e-commerce and IT divisions in Paris and Amsterdam, delivering new products and services, effective functionalities, and clear ergonomics to visitors whether on the traditional websites or via the more recent mobile applications Air France KLM offer. And conversion rate is also boosted when nice ticket fares are proposed! Improvements are measured through our Web Analytics tool enabling us to follow visitor navigation, preferences, booking funnel… Air France KLM acquisition of visitors is achieved in the region through a mix of marketing channels, offline and online, that varies from one country to the other as distribution and marketing patterns are different in Singapore, Indonesia, Australia, and New Zealand.

LEFT KLM online destination guide at www.klm.sg RIGHT PAGE The new Air France mobile application at http://mobile.airfrance.com

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Looking at online marketing channels, Search Engine Marketing (Search Engine Advertising – SEA – and Search Engine Optimization – SEO), e-mail marketing, banner display advertising, affiliation and metasearch are all used in this region. Add to those ‘traditional’ (5 to 10 years old!) online marketing channels the leverage of social media, and Air France KLM gives consumers and businesses a more leveled online platform for brand engagement and ultimately creates sales opportunities. These online marketing channels have different business models. At Air France KLM we prefer to work with CPC (Cost Per Click) and CPA (Cost Per Acquisition - sale) – also known as performance marketing – and since activity is perfectly measured online, we carefully monitor channel ROI to readjust spending as campaigns are run. The most cost efficient e-acquisition channel for Air France KLM in this region is Search Engine Advertising. The optimisation of this e-acquisition channel remains a key priority for the successful development of the online business in the Air France KLM organisation. E-mail marketing and banner display adver-

Singapore Online

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The most cost efficient e-acquisition channel for Air France KLM in this region is Search Engine Advertising.

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tising offer renewed opportunities to target and re-target customers/prospects during their definition of travel plans, with automated campaigns based on pre-defined marketing filters – destination of interest, previous type of online media exposure…

Also, new challenges are emerging with the rapid growth of online travel agents such as Expedia and Zuji in Singapore and Webjet in Australia with their innovative branding and marketing approach, especially online.

Affiliation and metasearch channels are still in infancy stage in Asia and they are not well-developed in comparison with more mature markets like US or UK. The contribution and potential of these channels remain very small for Air France KLM regionally.

Not to mention challenges from Google and Microsoft’s recent acquisitions of companies from the travel industry. For Google, the purchase of ITA – a software company providing flight inventory, air-fare pricing, and booking systems – gives them a dominant presence in online flight data. And for Microsoft, presence in the online travel industry was achieved through the acquisition of online travel-information service Farecast, merged with MSN Travel to create Bing Travel, an online travel platform.

We are also developing our presence on communities like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, step by step, with a fresh mindset, and with an entrepreneurial approach. The KLM Facebook page for Singapore at www.facebook.com/ KLMSingapore has reached over 6,000 fans in a few months, promoted through fun and interactive campaigns.

Bringing the travel industry to a new level online for the benefit of travellers who have never had as many options for travel inspiration and purchase! F

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Singapore Online

Customer Loyalty for Online Businesses Interview with consumer engagement strategist, Gregory Birge, F5DIGITAL Consulting Online shopping has become increasingly popular given the convenience and ease of use. We interviewed Gregory Birge about what it means by online customer loyalty and how to build online customer relationships. WHY IS E-SHOP BUSINESS BECOMING SO IMPORTANT?

WHAT IS THE MARKET POTENTIAL FOR ONLINE SHOPPING IN SINGAPORE?

It is about convenience. Internet and mobile allow consumer to purchase product anytime and anywhere. Consumer can research, compare price, and decide at own pace without pressure from sales personnel. Secondly, payment systems are more stable and secure. Banks and merchants have tightened up their security measures. One example will be the SMS validation (know as One-Time-Pin) by DBS each time you make an online purchase.

A recent study by Paypal revealed that Singapore online shopping market has reached S$1.1 billion in 2010 and is forecasted to reach S$4.4 million in 2015.

Also, payments and money transfers can be made through the Internet via Paypal and small amount payment gateways without having to enter credit card details each time.

Online shopping is definitely going to a norm, especially with the increase in ITliterate Internet-savvy population, the convenience and security stability. LOOKING AT THE COMPETITION, HOW CAN ONLINE BUSINESS ATTRACT AND RETAIN CUSTOMERS? Essentially, it is the whole customer experience that propels return and repeat purchases. Consumers usually look out for attractive looking website, easy and intuitive product search, ease of checkouts, secure payment, etc. This is what I call the Iceberg Axiom. The website is the visible part of the iceberg. However, it is the hidden part that can disrupt the customer experience, such as coordination with other functions such as finance, logistics, and operations team. SOME POINTS TO NOTE WHEN CREATING ONLINE BUSINESS. • Create a dedicated experience. Uploading of your product catalog will not resonate. Online shop must have a dedicated experience; similar to the brand experience you have in your offline store. • Select the right product. Select products based on the marketing strategy, either for online exclusive or offline bundles, etc. Dedicated sales strategy must be in place.

• Same pricing. Price gap of 10%-15% is acceptable but online does not mean cheap. Services must be proposed to value-add experience. • Distribution + stock management. Same as offline sales, online sales require the same effort to manage stock, delivery and are not necessary easier. A clear exchange policy needs to be in place for example. • Define product range clearly. Customers can easily compare prices, so companies should define their selected available products well. For companies offering wider product range, online act as a magnifier to the rest. • One customer. If you have a loyalty programme and redemption point, consumer should be entitled the same benefits offline and online. • Select the proper tool and platform. There are multiple e-commerce solutions and it should be evaluated properly before implementation, such as off-the-shelf, credit card payment gateway, link to SAP or stock management, etc. • Select the right online strategy. Strategies for online is similar to offline; You need to consider if it is a dedicated brand web-store or selling via distributor site. Similar to other marketing initiatives, online shops works best when the focus of the entire strategy and planning is the consumer. F

LEFT Gregory Birge, Founder & CEO of F5DIGITAL Consulting NOTE Paypal “Online and Mobile Shopping Insights” 2011

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Singapore Online

Creative Consumers & Ice-Creams By Alexandre Olmedo, Chief Executive Officer, eYeka Asia Pacific Eric Tan loves ColdStone’s ice creams. He sampled all the flavours while studying in the US, recommended the brand to his Facebook friends and spent the last month creating a short animated viral video that is guaranteed to generate some buzz ahead of the grand opening of the brand’s first outlet in Singapore. Eric does not work for an ad agency. He is a “creative consumer”. According to DCCI, a Chinese Internet consultancy, the amount of online content created by consumers has overtook professional content for the first time in China and this phenomenon is rippling throughout Asia. Friends of a brand or “frands” are consumers willing to get involved beyond a transactional relationship to not only advocate a brand but also actively participate in co-creating it. Global corporations, struggling to keep-up with the pace of change in the Asian consumer landscape are increasingly turning to consumers like Eric to help them innovate their marketing and to stay connected.

NOT ALL CONSUMERS ARE CREATED EQUAL For many marketers, such promise of consumers creating the very products they want to buy from them sounds too good to true. They are mostly right. Take MyStarbucksIdea.com, a website inviting fans to improve the brand experience, often cited as a successful example of consumer-driven innovation programmes. A quick peek at the suggestions posted online reveals rather mundane preoccupations: “almond milk”, “cute mugs”… Not exactly the game-changer the company would need to keep ahead of the competition or enter new “blue oceans”. This is because marketers behind most “crowdsourcing” and consumer-driven innovation initiatives assume that all consumers are equal and that as long as they RIGHT Winning entry of the contest organised for ColdStone: “Happiness of ice cream completes the planet”. Made by Eusong Lee and Tyler Chen Music Composed by Chung-Hwan Oh.

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Friends of a brand or “frands” are consumers willing to get involved beyond a transactional relationship to not only advocate a brand but also actively participate in co-creating it.

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have a representative sample of their target audience, breakthrough ideas that truly work for their brand will flow-in. They would be wise to remember the 1% rule uncovered a few years ago by online community pioneers such as YouTube, Yahoo! or Wikipedia who when analysing user participation on their platforms realised that on average only 1% created content, 9% contributed and the remaining 90%, just consumed it.

WHEN IT COMES TO CREATIVITY, THE 1% RULE We call the 1% “creative consumers”. Technology market research company Forrester reckons that their numbers varies per country and industry. Creative consumers are a bit like the creative director in your ad agency. Not necessarily your target audience but they can deliver innovative solutions that will resonate with the 90% you want to sell to. John Tan is a creative consumer. His mind constantly solves

problems, laterally and he enjoys expressing himself visually through design and animation. People like him are hard to find and to engage yet are exactly the type of consumers that can re-invent your brand. A new breed of online communities has recently emerged, focusing only on this 1% of most creative, innovative consumers. Eyeka is a community of 150,000 creative consumers that help brands innovate their product and marketing through co-creation. Communities deliver the benefits of collaboration with higher standard of creative output than traditional crowdsourcing. This is because they engage the right type of consumers at the right time, focusing on ideation not representation. The best ingredients for innovation with the right recipe for engagement, just like making the perfect ice-cream. Do consumers like it? You should have seen the queues at the store opening… F

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A Changing Digital Landscape By Camille Burdin, Digital Strategist & Vincent Teo, Director of Digital Strategy @ Publicis Modem Singapore WHAT IS THE SPECIFICITY OF SEA AND SINGAPORE WHEN IT COMES TO DIGITAL LANDSCAPE AND SOCIAL MEDIA? Southeast Asia is a wide territory and you can find much difference from one country to another. But it is safe to say that social media is extremely powerful in the region and that the trend is here to stay. Twitter users in Asia (Japan, Indonesia and South Korea being the most represented countries), accounted for 37% of the worldwide tweets according to a research institute studying the global tweets origin for a day. In November 2010, Indonesia overtook the UK to become the world’s second largest market for Facebook (behind the United States), whereas Philippines is actually the first country in the world when it comes to the penetration rate: 93% of its online population visiting the social media site during February 2011. IS SOCIAL MEDIA JUST A BRANDING TOOL? Social media should not be restricted to branding. It is a powerful tool when it comes to customer relationship management. With customer satisfaction being an integral part of a brand’s growth and suc-

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Social media is extremely powerful in the region and the trend is here to stay.

cess, social platforms offer yet another channel to improve customer service and drive targeted marketing. In addition to brand advocacy, social media can also be used to drive sales. During the month of January 2011, we launched an integrated campaign for Burger King Singapore to promote BK chicken range, when awareness was low and the competitors were far more aggressive in terms of chicken advertising. On the social media front, we created a platform that reflected an attitude people could connect with: we noticed online conversations depicting Singaporeans as tending not to stand up for others – or even themselves. The idea was to use these conversations and rally people to stand their ground. Never Chicken Out. Not when you believe in yourself; and not when you have 8 different chicken products to choose from. Traditionally, consumers spoof brand videos. In our case, Burger

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King subverted consumer conversations by spoofing popular consumer videos. All videos pointed to the Never Chicken Out contest on Facebook, where users could submit their own stories of not chickening out. The conversation was broadcasted via web banners, editorials, outdoor, print and in-store. Singaporeans then amplified it on Facebook, YouTube, blogs and forums. While everyone else talked about taste, Burger King went beyond the category conversation by championing a strong point of view on a societal level. Over a month, Burger King Singapore Facebook page gained 5,500 new fans and the videos were seen more than 250,000 times. The sales of BK chicken products increased by about 15% and overall sales for the month of January went up by about 9%. WHAT WOULD BE THE MOST IMPORTANT ELEMENT FOR A BRAND STARTING TO BUILD A SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGY ON SOCIAL NETWORKS? Social media is more than just another marketing channel: people are already talking about the brand online regardless of whether or not the brand chooses to engage on social media. It is how consumers are now living their lives and making purchase decisions. Consequently, it has become the way brands have to engage online, with the long term goal to manage and shift these conversations to their benefit. The main observation would probably be that brands need to focus on listening and understanding the conversations before engaging. The second one would be that social media platforms should not be used to broadcast content: instead of focusing on the messaging and pushing marketing announcements, brands should look to talk with consumers rather than just at them. F LEFT Campaign for Burger King Singapore www.youtube.com/BurgerKingSg

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The Broad Scope of Online Marketing Interview with Thierry Vandewalle, Managing Director, Publicis Modem Asia-Pacific

Thierry Vandewalle has been appointed Managing Director of Publicis Modem Asia-Pacific – tasked to drive further the digital network's positive momentum in the region. He will have a particular focus on the fast growing Chinese market where he will be Managing Director of Publicis Modem China in addition to his regional duties.

HOW EFFECTIVE IS ONLINE ADVERTISING IN COMPARISON WITH OTHER ADVERTISING FORMAT? There should be no comparison or antagonism between online and offline advertising. It is a matter of effective strategies and non effective strategies, and of mix of online and offline channels. Because of the social nature of the online landscape – it is more than a medium, it is a territory where people discuss, buy, get informed, play, meet each other and overall, interact – a good communication strategy should be based on content and engagement instead of top down marketing messages. The challenge for brands is to provide their audience with content that is interesting enough to create social currency for people to share with their peers. This can only be achieved by providing content that has an emotional or functional value, through pervasive story telling, or by organising co-creation and crowdsourcing. People love to be involved. By reaching these objectives through all the relevant communication platforms and mediums available, then, yes, your ad will be very effective in the short and long term. ONLINE MARKETING IS MAINLY SEEN AS A B2C TOOL, CAN IT ALSO SERVE B2B OBJECTIVES? Absolutely! Connection rates are even higher, and online communication is extremely effective in the B2B space. But the way brands advertise for their B2B crowd should not be very different from the way they engage their B2C audience. Here again, it’s all about sharing relevant content as opposed to mere messages. The

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A good communication strategy should be based on content.

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objective should still be to spread quality content people can relate to or that they will deem worthy of being shared with their own ecosystem of fans and followers. Specifically in B2B, I would trust more a company providing a lot of interesting content on a specific subject – and then somehow demonstrating its expertise and knowledge – than one that would just claim being the best via advertisements, whatever the medium used. WHAT IS THE FUTURE OF DIGITAL MARKETING? Do you mean what is the future of marketing? Digital marketing is inseparable from marketing. We can expect people to interact even more, using the new tools that will appear (we are only at the very beginning of the online revolution: Facebook was created only a few years ago). The increase in mobile usage will certainly be a major trend, with more people using interactive features and being connected to internet via their mobile. Because they will expect to be able to access the same kind of information that they can currently find when browsing the web on their laptop – be it entertainment, or information – there is a huge opportunity for brands to be present in those new moment of mobile content consumption.

Which brings us to geo-localisation or geo-targeted content with people receiving push messages on their mobile about their immediate environment (promo, opening hours or specific services), which represents an evident opportunity for bricks and mortar businesses. Those notifications will become increasingly targeted through providers or social networks, as it is starting to be the case with Foursquare or Facebook Places. F BOTTOM Thierry Vandewalle, Managing Director, Publicis Modem Asia-Pacific

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Understanding the Online Consumer By Emmanuel Sauquet, Vice President, Asia Business Development, Google

Imagine the Web as it was ten years ago. You pointed your browser to a website and read text on a desktop screen. That was most of the Web in 2000: a world of text. Today, the Web presents an entirely different experience. Text is only one of the many types of content you see online that now also include images, video and maps. Moreover, people aren’t just searching the Web from their desktops. They are accessing the Web from smartphones as well.

KNOWING WHAT YOUR CUSTOMERS ARE SEARCHING ONLINE The way consumers are accessing information is changing. Web search, for instance, is so embedded in the daily lives of people around the world that it has become a barometer of what is on our minds. It knows what keeps us excited and how we are spending our free time and extra money as well. This means that business owners and marketing experts have

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85% of Singaporean shoppers research products online before buying.

tremendous insight into their customers' thoughts at their fingertips. Businesses should also be paying attention to online because it is playing an increasing role in shoppers' decisionmaking process. According to a Consumer Commerce Barometer (CCB) study conducted by the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) Southeast Asia together with Google, nearly two-thirds of Singaporeans buy things online, and 85% of Singaporean shoppers research products online before making a purchase, with search engines being by far the most popular place to start. Singaporeans research products across all verticals, and most heavily in categories like technology (mobile phones, digital cameras), travel, and retail.

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RESEARCH STARTS WITH SEARCH When Singaporeans shoppers start researching products online, the first place they turn to is a search engine. For retailers, the implications are clear. Engagement happens long before a customer enters your store. A shopper who searches for "plasma TV with HD capability" is on a mission for a solution. Any relevant retailer that doesn't appear in the online search results is not influencing the consumers when they are crying out for help. That is why it is important to make sure you reach them at the exact point they want the information. It is important to be where the conversations are – and increasingly they are happening online. Here is how you can take advantage of the online trend:

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Know your website numbers • Make sure you have properly installed a measurement system on your website. • Understand which pages of your website are most popular, where your visitors are coming from (e.g., what websites lead them to your website). • If nothing else, double-check that your shopping cart page is working properly! Drive traffic • Use online advertising such as Google AdWords to drive traffic to your website. • Select keywords that are relevant to your business so that users who are using search engines can see your ads when they type in related words into the search box. Monitor your brand online • Set up News Alerts that trigger when

Singapore Online

your company name is mentioned. • Create a profile page with Google Places (only, of course, if you have a brick and mortar address). • Monitor feedback on your business on all of the popular consumer review websites. Engage with consumers online • Understand any new trends or changes that could impact your business. • Use Twitter, Facebook and YouTube to solicit feedback and insight. • As more and more people use these forums as a way to voice their opinions, use them as a way to engage. Be an expert • Be an expert of your own particular niche and then offer insights and expertise to potential customers using a blog.

• If you have a cooking business, you could also start a YouTube video series about cooking and recipes, or a blog about news related to cuisine. Improve your website design • Test different versions of your website with customers and then let the numbers speak for themselves. • Use a free tool such as Google Website Optimizer to decide if it is better to have a page with a lot of small pictures of your products, or a page with just 1 product; does 'buy one, get one free' or 'free shipping' work better? • Test different combinations of layouts, promotions and graphics to get an accurate – and statistical! – view into what website your visitors will like best. F

How Consumers Use the Internet in Southeast Asia* By Myriam Boublil, Head of Communications and Public Affairs, Google SEA

FOCUS ON SINGAPORE Online shopping statistics • Nearly two thirds of Singaporeans (62%) buy things online. • 64% feel that online shopping is convenient and a time saver. Online research fuels in-store sales • This is especially true in Singapore – 85% of shoppers research products and services online before making purchases. • Singaporeans research products across all verticals, and most heavily in categories like technology (mobile phones, digital cameras, computers), travel (flights, hotels, holiday packages), and retail. Research starts with search • Internet first, everything else second – over 60% turn to the Internet as the first port of call when researching products to buy. • Search engines are by far the most-used website for online research. Over two in three Singapore shoppers start their online research with search, followed by manufacturer (45%) and retailer (36%) websites. Shoppers expect to ﬁnd their favourite brands with search • 58% of Singaporeans expect to find leading brands at the top of search results. • 52% of people think the placement of a brand on the search results page reflects the importance of the brand company. • 51% of people search online for products and brands they hear about offline.

FOCUS ON MALAYSIA • • • • • •

High tendency for research online (90%). Online auctions are important for research purposes. 89% research online before making offline purchases. 1 in 4 make online purchases at least once a month. 40% print out product information to take to the store. High awareness of sponsored links (81%).

FOCUS ON THAILAND • • • • •

47% print out product information to take to the store (#1 in SEA). Internet is the first place to go when researching products to buy. Search engines are an important research instrument (Top 3 in APAC). High awareness of sponsored links (82%). Highest tendency to read blogs in conducting online research (#1 in APAC with 66%). *Consumer Commerce Barometer

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Singapore Online

Is the “Mall Culture” a Threat to e-Commerce? By Alexia Sichere, Managing Director, Foxysales.com Foxysales.com is an online sales concept based in Singapore and offering exclusive deals to smart shoppers. They are an exclusive members-only online shopping club, organising 2/3-day sales of well-known brands and designers at up to a 90% discount. “I was initially jittery about the order as I have never purchased anything from Foxysales before. […] I greatly appreciate how the goods are true to description unlike what some other online shops sold me […].” This feedback from a new customer dated March 2011 is a good illustration of the challenges that e-commerce is facing in Singapore. At first sight, one could believe that the biggest challenge comes from the presence of numerous malls in Singapore: easy to access, open from 10am to 10pm every day, offering a wide range of facilities and, last but not least, where you can see, touch and try the products. But just like anyone in the rest of the world, Singaporeans are savvy consumers likely to buy online to save time, comparing prices to get the best deals. The importance of making a good deal is even higher in the Chinese culture compared to Europe. Therefore, if you have the adequate offer online such as products that you cannot find in malls or significant discounts, being in a country where the mall is king is not a threat to e-commerce. As an illustration, a survey from MasterCard shows that 64% of Singaporeans shop online and the country is ranked 8th in the worldwide ranking of e-commerce. The key to increase e-commerce in Singapore is probably trust.

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The key to increase e-commerce in Singapore is probably trust.

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Indeed, Singaporeans are likely to buy online provided the merchant is trustful and their shopping experience is excellent. But you have to build the trust and relationship for the first purchase to happen.

where your clients will likely never see your face or be able to trade in cash. You then need to identify potential threats and to address them in the design of your website.

Trust is hard to build and easy to lose. This is especially true for an online business,

It is very helpful to have a dedicated section answering to the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) in order to eliminate potential threats and to reassure your potential clients. For an online shopping club as Foxysales, it is vital to have a good refund or return policy. A free return policy is a very powerful encouragement to buy, while a bad or seemingly uncaring policy is a definite “trust-breaker”. As an example, at Foxysales, the member has 7 working days after the original shipping date to change his/her mind and to return a purchased product. Another major concern of the online sale is the delivery process. We decided to add a special section dedicated to inform our clients on the deliveries in order to ease the sales process as much as possible. E-commerce offers a lot of benefits for customers, especially in terms of convenience and prices. Today, it is still in the expansion phase in Singapore and there are opportunities for trustworthy local players. F

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Singapore Online

Bringing a New Concept to Singapore Interview with Gregory Costamagna and Olivier Michel, co-founders of StreetDeal.sg StreetDeal.sg is one of Singapore’s fastest growing group-buying sites that offers daily deals, from 50% to as much as 90% discount, on local services ranging from delectable restaurants, premier beauty treatments to exotic getaways. HOW DOES STREETDEAL WORK? Unlike many daily deals and group-buying sites in Singapore, StreetDeal.sg does not have a minimum buyer cap which allows customers to simply purchase the deal of their choice using a secure payment solution. StreetDeal.sg also offers a unique feature which allows customers to enjoy hassle-free shopping for gifts; they can purchase a deal as a gift and have the voucher sent directly to the recipient’s inbox. As a result, StreetDeal.sg has sold more than 30,000 vouchers, saving customers over S$3.8 million, since starting our operations in October 2010. HOW DOES STREETDEAL.SG HELP MERCHANTS? StreetDeal.sg offers potential businesses the following four benefits in our Merchant Partner programme: 1. Risk Free Marketing – No money upfront: Merchants do not have to pay money upfront to be featured on StreetDeal.sg – only a portion of the sale from a coupon will be taken as commission. 2. Guaranteed new paying customers: There is no minimum buyer requirement for a deal to be valid. Merchant Partners are guaranteed a number of new customers, who will on average, spend over the value of the coupon. 3. The word of mouth: As an online business, we often see customers sharing their experience in the new place they just tried, through StreetDeal.sg, with all their friends via Facebook and Twitter. Word of mouth is a powerful tool, if not, more credible than traditional advertising. 4. Positive cash flow: StreetDeal.sg pay its Merchant Partners within seven days after the deal closes, whereas

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Almost 50% of the 1000+ people surveyed indicated they would like to see travel deals offered more frequently.

customers will only begin redeeming their vouchers at a later time. DID YOU HAVE TO ADAPT YOUR STRATEGY TO THE SINGAPOREAN MARKET? With the bargain-loving culture in Singapore, it is no surprise that the annual Great Singapore Sale (GSS) and high volume product and services exhibitions such as NATAS Travel Fair and IT Show consistently attract throngs of interested visitors. A recent poll on StreetDeal.sg found that almost 50% of the 1000+ people surveyed indicated they would like to see travel deals offered more frequently. This was followed by deals relating to food & beverage, health & wellness and lastly, apparels & entertainment. StreetDeal.sg is one of a few group-buying deal sites that has anticipated this trend and has been

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offering discounted travel packages on a regular basis. StreetDeal.sg has capitalised this trend by offering exciting and wide-ranging travel offers to cater to customers who have trouble getting to the local travel fairs. Taking the poll as an example, StreetDeal.sg strongly believes in leveraging the popularity and efficacy of social media to engage its customers and gain insights into their purchasing preferences. We take customer service seriously as we provide prompt response to queries on our Facebook fan page. Already, StreetDeal.sg is currently enjoying a growing popularity via its Facebook fan page by receiving an increment of up to 1000 ‘Likes’ each week. F BELOW FROM LEFT TO RIGHT Gregory Costamagna and Olivier Michel, cofounders of StreetDeal.sg

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Launching a Shopping Club Interview with Sara Ebru Kisioglu, Managing Partner & Lucy Lafable, Business Development Manager, Brandsfever

WHAT IS BRANDSFEVER AND HOW DOES IT WORK? Brandsfever is a members-only shopping club, providing international brands at up to 70% off retail prices. The sales on Brandsfever are event-based and time-limited. Before each sale event, we send out invitations to our members and inform them. When the sales start, members log on to the website and shop. After the sale event is over, we collect the items directly from the supplier, pick and pack them in our fashion factory and send to our customers. The team is a versatile mix of international professionals from different backgrounds who have built and run hugely successful e-commerce projects throughout the globe. WHAT IS THE INSPIRATION BEHIND BRANDSFEVER? As far as we know, the father of the private shopping club concept is Vente Privée, founded in 2001 in France. The concept is quite well known both in Europe and the US but not as popular in Asia. We have taken the concept and started in Singapore, and we are currently actively expanding into other countries throughout the region.

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The most challenging part of the process is the logistics.

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Brandsfever solves a very specific problem for brands: excess inventory. By focusing on efficient distribution of last season stock combined with the power of viral online marketing, we are offering a discrete, targeted and transparent sales platform for our brand partners. Another proposition for our exclusive brand partners is the unique marketing opportunities and insight that we provide. We curate dedicated online marketing events that we promote through e-mail, social media and even offline channels. All our exclusive brand partners have access to a front-end interface on our website where they can log in, track sales, see demographics of the customers who buy their products and gain anonymous insights into behaviour patterns of their customers. WHAT IS THE KEY BENEFIT FOR YOUR CUSTOMERS? For our customers, the ability to purchase

well known brands at privileged prices is the main benefit. The event-based nature of the concept and the sales cycles create the anticipation and excitement that we are aiming for. Brandsfever features a wide variety of international brands, from fashion to accessories, from toys to kitchen utensils. We are aiming for a wide market reach but we are also selective about the brands that we feature and looking for brands that complement each other. WHAT ARE THE KEY CHALLENGES OF RUNNING AN ONLINE E-COMMERCE BUSINESS SUCH AS BRANDSFEVER? The most challenging part of the process is the logistics. It is relatively easy to set up a website and start selling products. Effective marketing combined with strong brands can lead to a fast increase in member base. However, once the daily deliveries get to a certain size, logistics become critical. IF YOU HAVE A FEW THOUSAND DELIVERIES PER DAY, HOW DO YOU EFFECTIVELY MANAGE TRANSPORTATION OF GOODS FROM THE SUPPLIERS? WHERE ARE THE GOODS SORTED AND ORDERED? WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO PACKAGE THE ITEMS? HOW DO YOU HANDLE RETURNS? Based on our previous experiences around the globe, we have honed a highly sophisticated yet elegant process to overcome this problem. Our solution combines efficient Business Process Modeling with an advanced ERP system. We call it: "fashion factory". This I believe will help us keep our competitive edge in the long run. F

RIGHT The BrandFever’s team

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COVER STORY

May 2011

Singapore Online

Create your Own Merchandising Interview with Antoine de Juge, Director, comboutique.asia

Comboutique is the leading provider of on-demand merchandising in Europe with operations in France, United Kingdom, Germany and now in Singapore.

WHY DID YOU CHOOSE SINGAPORE TO DEVELOP YOUR ONLINE BUSINESS? Comboutique Europe was looking to expand in Asia and we naturally chose Singapore because of the reliability of the business framework in the city state. Moreover, we had the opportunity to team up with a Singaporean company run by two French entrepreneurs: their 10 years experience in Singapore made everything much easier for us. EXPLAIN YOUR CONCEPT IN A FEW WORDS. Comboutique let people create their own merchandising (t-shirt, mugs, iphone skins). Products are produced and shipped on-demand so there is no minimum: you can design and buy only one product for yourself or as a gift. Our specificity is that people can also use the Comboutique platform to open their e-shop and sell their products and designs online. That allows companies or creative people to be able to sell merchandising to their fans or customers very easily and with no upfront cost (it is free to open a shop) and can be integrated transparently into their website. DID YOU HAVE TO ADAPT YOUR BUSINESS MODEL FOR ASIA? Yes. We had to adapt the look and feel of the website as much as possible, especially for the translations in Chinese language. The way the content is organised in Asia, especially for homepages is slightly dif-

“

People can also use the Comboutique platform to open their e-shop .

ferent of the usage in Europe. After doing that we have been able to measure a significant increase in our conversion rate. HOW DO YOU PROMOTE YOUR WEBSITE?

”

As an “old” e-commerce company (almost 7 years in Europe) with IT and marketing background, we are very focused on the measurement of Return On Investment. Right now most of our marketing is oriented towards business development deals, customer loyalty management and customer acquisition using search engine marketing and social media marketing. So far we are doing most of our communication and marketing internally because it is not always easy to find companies in Singapore that can provide us with the same level of services than in Europe: most of the agencies are still focused on branding issues and not on performance marketing yet. WHAT ARE YOUR FUTURE PLANS? We will continue to develop Comboutique in Asia Pacific countries and we are really excited by the fast growing trend of e-commerce in this region. We also plan to launch a new business in the coming weeks: we will open an agency dedicated to performance marketing for e-business. We are ready to share our experience, our tools and best practices with companies in the region that are looking for IT and marketing solutions that really increase the return on investment. F

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May 2011

Singapore Online

Breaking the Boundaries of Art Interview with Olivier Henry, Vue Privée founder Vue Privée (VP) is a new art concept space and brand focused on limited edition artworks, merchandise, events, and a lifestyle that is inspired by photography. Its founder, Olivier Henry, came to Singapore from France in 1998 and quickly established himself as one of Singapore's most respected photographers, and his studio Milk Photographie, into a business success story.

Democratic, Innovative, Unique: Vue Privée is bringing photographic inspired art into homes across the globe. The first Asian gallery of its kind to sell online, Vue Privée comes with its own philosophy and artistic mandate.

“Art is a lifestyle,” says Olivier Henry, “We are democratising it through the World Wide Web.” Born of a passion for the photographic form, Vue Privée specialises in works that involve the artists’ interpretation of the medium, that evolve into endless permutations of expression. In-depth collaboration creates alternative perspectives on the traditional view of photography, whether this be Chinese and Arabic calligraphy written in light or mixed media responses to vintage Japanese prints that are part of the Gallery’s private collection.

“Vue Privée is a passion based concept,” explains Olivier, “It is born of a deep, abiding love of the photographic form and a

“

Vue Privée is a passion based concept.

desire to bring this to the rest of the world.” It is also an organic concept, developing just as creatively as the products it supplies. Lifestyle items such as vases, bags and everyday items will eventually be available, allowing customers to integrate art into every aspect of their lives. In its current form, VP breaks ground by being the first to push photographic art through the e-commerce platform, in a region dominated by Chinese Contemporary Art. The site opens up a new platform to emerging as well as season collectors, sharing knowledge about what to look for in a work, building confidence and increasing accessibility.

“When I was a student I wanted to collect art, but all I could afford was maybe a

”

poster or a post card,” Olivier explains. “Now I want to build a platform that allows even emerging collectors to own something beautiful that is within their price range. Collecting is addictive; once you start, it is very hard to stop. I can’t imagine the collection I could have had by now should I have started collecting when I was 23.” With the new website, Vue Privée is offering something fresh to the global market. For the first time, anyone on the planet can access VP’s photographic art and have it delivered to their door. VP opens a new perspective on art and encourages you to start collecting today. F TOP LEFT Craig Redman, The Sky Is Black TOP RIGHT Yann & Alex

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COVER STORY

May 2011

Singapore Online

Online Marketing is Key By Alvin Choo, e-Business Executive (Southeast Asia) at Club Med Since its creation almost 60 years ago by Gérard Blitz and Gilbert Trigano, the Club Med brand is synonymous throughout the world with dreams, happiness and hospitality. Faithful to its pioneering spirit, Club Med constantly reinvents the alchemy of happiness to become today the world specialist in upscale, friendly, multicultural all-inclusive holidays. Club Med, well-known for its all-inclusive packages in idyllic locations, appeals especially to families, where food, drinks and fun activities both for adults and kids are all taken care of at one single price. Club Med Singapore has successfully tapped on online marketing and social media strategies, reaping fabulous results from these. Singapore has one of the highest rates of internet usage in the world. According to Internet World Statistics, Singapore’s internet usage has jumped from 36.8% in the year 2000 to more than double, at 77.8% by June 2010. With the second high-

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Singapore has one of the highest rates of internet usage in the world.

est internet penetration rate in Southeast Asia, Singaporeans are net-savvy and has a higher propensity to use the internet to obtain information and make purchases. The internet offers a cost-effective, adaptable and flexible medium for companies to upload updates and information with ease and speed to be disseminated almost im-

”

mediately. The ability of the internet to reach out to various potential customers, be it the masses or specific markets, makes it a superbly attractive medium. Club Med Singapore saw these opportunities and was able to tap on the internet and the social media to interact with customers in order to listen to what customers want and obtain their feedback.

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COVER STORY

May 2011

With a mind to tap on the internet and the opportunities offered, Club Med Singapore launched its first booking engine in 2006. This was then followed by a web upgrade in 2008. Our website was given a total revamp in 2010. All these were in line with the increasing usage of its website. In its pursuit to provide a better online experience for customers seeking information and/or making their bookings online, many improvements to the website have been made, including the ability to check flight availability and easier navigation within the booking system. Our online objectives in Singapore were to increase revenue, increase web visits and convert casual visitors into customers. Figures from 2007-2010 saw online visits to the Club Med Singapore website to have more than doubled. There was also an increase of 12% in conversion rates through these visits. Online revenue within these four years also tripled. With the launch of our booking engine came the need to drive traffic to the website. The Club Med web address was included across all marketing platforms and media from print to outdoor to EDMs. Search Engine Marketing (SEM) was implemented with constant tweaking of keywords and emphasis on specific keywords that lead to conversions. These efforts ensured that our website was constantly at the top of mind of consumers. The results of the online marketing efforts proved to be a huge success with banner buys contributing to significant increases in visits, conversion rates and revenue as compared to the same period last year. The use of social media also led to a stronger online presence that complemented our website. More than that, it also provided an engaging and interactive online platform to enhance communications between Club Med and its customers. Leveraging off the popularity of Facebook, Club Med is able to gain a fan base where customers make comments of their holiday experiences and also share pictures of their time at the Resort. This provides credible and objective testimonials in support of Club Med’s all-inclusive holiday concept. Guests also use blogs to share

Singapore Online

“

The use of social media also led to a stronger online presence .

their holiday experiences in Club Med. Our Customer Relationship Management (CRM) efforts has also seen an increase in repeat customers through the Great Members programme – with focus on growing new customers and retaining repeat customers. We also use e-mail marketing, partnerships and weblistings to touch base with our members. All these efforts are aligned with Club Med’s branding focus of recognition, rewards and benefits for loyal customers.

”

Online marketing has proven to be an important and key platform for us, which is why the company is keen to continue investing time and effort to tap into this avenue. Exploring new media elements gives a new dimension to the business model adapted, and is an important tool in retaining and attracting new customers. F LEFT PAGE The new Manta Lounge at Club Med Kani, Maldives BOTTOM Club Med Singapore's Facebook page

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COVER STORY

May 2011

Singapore Online

Bringing Provence Wines to Singapore with e-Commerce Interview with Laurent Piel, Director, frenchterroirs.com WHY ANOTHER E-WINE STORE? After more than a year learning about the wine business in Singapore, without being able to find good Provence Rosé wines, I decided to launch the first and only e-shop 100% dedicated to Provence wines in Singapore. With frenchterroirs.com, I bring unique wines from small producers, where the “Savoir Faire” is more than a legend. WHAT WERE THE MAIN CHALLENGES YOU HAD TO FACE? The first challenge was to design a website (working hand in hand with Pop Development Sg Pte Ltd) reflecting the three pillars of my concept: the quality of the wines, the story of the Domaines or Châteaux, and the lifestyle of a region made famous by its sun-drenched beauty. The e-store has been designed using the feedback of our buyers at fair markets and recommendations from our winemakers.

“

To share my passion, I created a “Getting to Know Rosé” section in the website.

”

The second challenge I had to face was the introduction of a new product, Rosé, in Asia. Even though some of my customers, composed of expatriates, are familiar with Provence products, I also had to focus on my local customers who do not know Rosé. This played a high role in the design of the website.

of Provence for centuries, few Singaporeans know that Provence is producing great wines or how Rosé is made. Chinese and Indian cuisines are a rollercoaster ride of flavours, which can be fully revealed with Rosé wines. I dedicated a full section on how to pair Rosé with all the variety of food present in Singapore.

HOW TO SELL PRODUCTS WHEN BUYERS MAY NOT KNOW THEM AND CANNOT TASTE THEM?

Rosé is also the perfect wine for hot weather, festive moments around a barbecue and spicy food. Here connecting with some important elements of the life of Singaporeans. And more importantly I wanted to show that there are Rosé wine producers in love with their products, and proposing products of the utmost qualities. I went to France to meet and visit the ones I selected.

The major challenge I was facing was the lack of knowledge of Rosé in Singapore. To share my passion, I created a “Getting to Know Rosé” section in the website. Indeed, although Rosé has been the focus

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF SELLING ONLINE? The e-store offers a very convenient way of ordering your wines from home and having it delivered to your home or barbecue pit! Moreover, operating through an estore also enables French Terroirs to offer affordable quality wines. Wine lovers can taste the unique selection at various fair markets or shopping malls throughout the island, and are kept informed of the whereabouts of French Terroirs via the newsletter. To further differentiate ourselves, we are equipped with complete storage facilities, guaranteeing your bottles stored in ideal conditions, without the hassle of having a cumbersome wine cellar at home. F LEFT Charles Rouy Winemaker of Chateau d'Ollières and Laurent Piel, Director, frenchterroirs.com

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COVER STORY

May 2011

Singapore Online

e-Learning, a Solution to Today’s Globalised World By Clélie Kempf, Managing Director of Frenchatwork In today's globalised world, the ability to do business across borders and cultures is essential. Effective, confident communication skills are vital tools for employees in the corporate and public sectors, especially in Singapore. E-learning, sometimes combined with on-site language courses, is becoming an increasingly popular option for busy managers and employees who frequently travel or are in the process of being relocated. Learners such as these tend to work for international companies and need to speak in the target language during their overseas assignments. Adopting an e-learning solution is less expensive per end-user due to scaleable distribution and the elimination of high salaries for trainers and consultants. The biggest benefit of e-learning, however, is that it eliminates the expense and inconvenience of getting the instructor and students in the same place. E-learning solutions are not only less time consuming and allow your organisation to save money, they also provide you with a large flexibility. Indeed, e-learning training is as mobile as you are! Wherever you are, you just need to be connected to follow up your training. Frenchatwork earned its reputation by offering flexible, custom-made language programmes in Singapore. When HR and private clients come to us with a need for e-learning language solutions, they have specific requirements and expectations that can not be met by standard courses. Indeed, time constraints, sudden schedule changes and last-minute speeches, presentations and interviews in the target language are the norm for our clients. These are among the challenges that our instructors overcome in delivering topquality instruction during Skype sessions, chat and through emails. Interestingly, conducting language training via e-learning not only relies on diverse

“

E-learning training is as mobile as you are!

”

learning strategies and technologies, but also on interpersonal communication skills from both parties. These 'soft skills', developed during e-learning sessions in overcoming the 'thickness' of the web, prove useful in other settings

such as teleconferences, meetings and presentations. For professionals always on the go, elearning is indeed a flexible and efficient language learning tool. F

Asia is the Fastest Growing Market for e-Learning By Amine Delage, Managing Director, L&P Management Consultancy In an era defined by speed and time, we are in a continous pace of a very competitive environment. The desire to increase your performance becomes an ultimate need challenged by a restrictive time frame. E-learning provides a strong growth reflecting the progress of new e-technologies applied to professional and ongoing learnings. With a demand already important and critical in today's environment, e-tools enjoy a double digit growth around the World. According to the report, "The Worldwide Market for Self-paced eLearning Products and Services: 2009-2014 Forecast and Analysis", the market had reached US$ 27.1 billion in 2009. The demand is growing at a 5 year compound annual growth rate of 12.8% and will take the world market to US$ 49.6 billion by 2014. By 2014 Asia (which includes Australia and New Zealand in this report) would overtake Western Europe to become the second largest market after North America. The compound annual growth rate in Asia is a very healthy 33.5%. F

2009-2014 DEMAND BY REGION GROWTH RATES 35%

NOTE Low growth does not equate to low revenues. Demand can be relatively low and still generate significant revenues for suppliers.

30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0% North Latin Western Eastern America America Europe Europe

Asia

Middle East

Africa

SOURCE Ambient Insight 2010

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FEATURE REPORT

May 2011

Singapore Sports Hub

Positioning Singapore as a Major Sports Hub in Asia By Philippe Collin-Delavaud, Chief Executive Officer of Sports Hub

Singapore has been a successful financial and commercial hub for many years, but the government is now focusing on the cultural scene and sports. The City-State is taking sports to the next level with the construction of world-class sports facilities to reach its aim to be a major sports hub in Asia.

Located on a 35 hectare site only 15 minutes from Changi international airport, the Singapore Sports Hub is a huge integrated sports and leisure complex. This project launched and monitored by the Singapore Sport Counsel is the largest sports facilities infrastructure PPP in the world. Financing mixing equity and debt was raised from leading financial institutions among them HSBC played a leading role from the beginning. The design and build part of the project has been awarded for a lump sum of S$1.33 billion to Dragages, a subsidiary of Bouygues Construction. Dragages is also member of the consortium, who will manage the project and the facilities for 25 years.

The Sports Hub at a glance: • A new 55,000-capacity National Stadium with a retractable roof and comfort cooling for spectators. • The existing 12,000-capacity Singapore Indoor Stadium. • A 3,000-capacity Multi-Purpose Arena which will be scalable and flexible in layout. • A 6,000-capacity indoor Aquatic Centre that meets world tournament standards. • A Water Sports Centre to enhance sports offerings in the Kallang basin. • A sports Information & Resources Centre (SIRC), comprising a library and a museum. • Sports promenade and Community services. • 41,000 sqm of commercial space with a retail mall of 36,000 sqm. Five major sports venues anchor the master plan: the new National Stadium, the Aquatic & Leisure Water Centre, the MultiPurpose Indoor Arena (MPIA), the Singapore Indoor Stadium and the new

Watersports Centre next to the Kallang Basin. Each of these five major venues has been designed for maximum flexibility in use, to support the widest variety of events, throughout the year. They can be

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FEATURE REPORT

May 2011

Singapore Sports Hub

RIGHT TOP View of Stadium Plaza and Ceremonial Stair BOTTOM View of Sportshub from Kallang Basin All pictures © Singapore Sports Hub Consortium

used to host world championship sporting events, as well as everyday leisure use.

AN ECO-FRIENDLY APPROACH The Sports Hub is not designed to be only “green in look, but green in heart”. With the introduction of innovations in conservation, energy and waste stream management that will place the Sports Hub at the forefront of other sporting facilities around the world. The Sports Hub has been designed to maximise amount of open spaces and promote natural ventilation between buildings. Extensive landscaping is carried out throughout the site by integrating greenery and restoration of existing site trees. Most of the accessible roof areas have been designed with planting to provide quality environments and help reduce solar gain of each building. In addition, a bio-swale is proposed to filter the run-off before it is discharged back into the basin.

Project Owner: Singapore Sports Council Concessionaire: Sports Hub Pte Ltd, owned by - InfraRed Capital Partners Ltd (Equity provider, partly owned by HSBC) - Dragages Singapore Pte Ltd (Construction) - UGL Services Premas Operations Ltd (Facilities Management) - Global Spectrum Pico Pte Ltd (Events) Key Partners: - World Sport Group Pte Ltd (Sports marketing and procurement) -Arup / Arup associates (Sports architecture and engineering) -DP Architects (Architecture)

Sports Hub will be a successful project if each year, each citizen or visitor in Singapore has several occasions to visit Sports

Hub for watching or practicing sport, listening concerts, shopping, dining or just walking at the waterfront. F

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FEATURE REPORT

May 2011

Singapore Sports Hub

Presentation of the New Complex Centre Sports Hub Dragages (Bouygues Group) kindly offered the FCCS to organise for its members a presentation and a site visit of the future Singapore Complex Centre Sports Hub. Mr Philippe Collin-Delavaud, Chief Executive Officer of Sports Hub and Mr Frédéric Ferré, Project Manager of Sports Hub, welcomed our 50 guests and presented the Sports Hub project.

S$1.33 billion Singapore Sports Hub is envisioned to be a fully integrated sports, entertainment and lifestyle hub for everyone in Singapore. It will be Singapore’s premier land and water sports centre with integrated programming. Sports Hub is also slated to be Asia’s best sports and entertainment facility, and alongside the world’s best and most dynamic sports, entertainment and lifestyle venues.

Due to be completed by April 2014, the

The Sports Hub project is currently in its

first phase, with demolishment works completed, and piling began following the official groundbreaking ceremony on 29 September 2010. Sports Hub Pte Ltd has taken over the operation, the maintenance and the refurbishment of the Singapore Indoor Stadium from 25 August 2010. We would like to take this opportunity to thank Dragages and Sports Hub for organising this very interesting presentation and site visit. F

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FEATURE REPORT

May 2011

Singapore Sports Hub

The Construction Sector in Singapore Interview with Ludwig Reichhold, Managing Director of Dragages Singapore

HOW IS THE CONSTRUCTION SECTOR IN SINGAPORE? The construction market in Singapore, like in many other countries around the world, is a reliable indicator of the state of the general economy. After the boom of 2007, where availability of resources was the main issue, the construction sector had to cope with the financial crisis and its consequences. Fortunately the crisis has been short lived in Asia and the Singapore Government has not hesitated to take swift and efficient measures to counter balance some of its effects. Over the past three years we have moved from a speculative, debt financed explosion of high-end residential and leisure projects to a more sustainable mix of mid range residential, commercial and social infrastructure developments. At the same time the Government is continuing to promote quality and sustainability both in the public and in the private sector. SINGAPORE IS PUSHING THE CONSTRUCTION SECTOR TO BE GREENER. WHAT ARE THE INITIATIVES CONDUCTED BY DRAGAGES IN GREEN BUILDING? Dragages welcomes and supports the Government’s initiatives in sustainable construction and development which are in line with Dragages’ and Bouygues’ corporate policies worldwide. We are trying to lead the way by proposing innovative products, technologies and construction methods to our clients, allowing them the progress faster in this area. All our projects in Singapore are Green Mark certified, with most of them reaching the Platinum level. Dragages is consistently promoting new technologies in Singapore, such as solar chillers and cooling storage. As a result one of our projects has been awarded last year the first LEED Gold certificate for a

greenfield project in Singapore, and Dragages has received the Green and Gracious Builder Award by the Building and Construction Authority in 2010. ACCORDING TO YOU, ARE THERE STILL OPPORTUNITIES FOR FRENCH CONSTRUCTION COMPANIES IN THIS MARKET? There are plenty of opportunities in the Singapore market for all those who understand the environment and have something meaningful to contribute. French companies have an edge in all areas of design, engineering and technology, be it in construction, in industry or in services. The challenge for us is to develop those technologies within the Asian environment, making the best use of local resources, to ensure that we are proposing relevant and cost effective solutions.

WHAT ARE THE CURRENT AND FUTURE PROJECTS FOR DRAGAGES IN SINGAPORE AND IN THE REGION? We are currently delivering two residential projects in Singapore and starting two new ones. At the same time we are mobilising the construction team on the Sports Hub where demolition was completed in March and foundation work is now in full swing. We are also very active in Vietnam on a large commercial and residential development in the heart of Ho Chi Minh City. With Asia becoming the main growth engine of the world, we will be focusing even more on the region. Singapore is an ideal base for development in Asia Pacific. We will continue to build on our past successes with a pragmatic approach. We are looking forward to a lot of new challenges in the region in the coming years. F

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FCCS HR & TRAINING SERVICES

May 2011

Training Sessions

Enhance Your Skills with FCCS Training Modules HIGHLY EFFECTIVE MANAGEMENT PRACTICES FOR YOU & YOUR SUBORDINATES TO DELIVER BEYOND EXPECTATIONS “This training provided me with several kinds of structures/guidelines for team management and very practical tips to use.” Eo Kyung Moon, Alstom Transport

EFFECTIVE INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION AND CONFLICT RESOLUTION “It is good to remember that intercultural skills are not just about cross-cultural skills but also personal awareness, communication and conflict management.” Karine Scelles, Alstom Transport

CSR & SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT – GETTING STARTED? “The training provided a good framework to start a CSR programme in my company which was the objective.” Carine Lamalle, IPSOS

CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE “The trainer has given me a better insight and understanding on the customer orientation approach, customer segmentations and customer path.” Ho Hwee Lan, SOXAL Air Liquide

FORECAST: HOW TO IMPROVE THEIR ACCURACY “Through the training I obtained a complete view of forecast processes and tools, what makes the forecast successful and understood what S%OP is.” Rebecca Wang, Firmenich

Upcoming Training Modules, May-Dec 2011 Wed 11

Marketing and Advertising Strategies in Asia

Trainer: Mr Christophe Le Yoanc, S2M

Thu 19

Managing Cultural Diversity in APAC

Trainer: Mrs Catherine Claudepierre, Cross-Culture Link

Tue 31

Consumer Engagement Through Social Media

Trainer: Mr Gregory Birge, F5 Digital Consulting

Thu 9

CSR & Sustainable Development - Gearing Up

Trainer: Mrs Joëlle Brohier, Anakout

Thu 16

Presentation to High-level Audiences - Method and Advanced Skills

Trainer: Mr Jean-François Cousin, 1-2-Win Executive Coaching

Sep

Thu 29

Managing Cultural Diversity in APAC

Trainer: Mrs Catherine Claudepierre, Cross-Culture Link

Oct

Wed 12

Introduction to Supply Chain Management Fundamentals

Trainer: iCognitive

Fri 21

MBTI (Myers Briggs Type Indicator) Step 2

Trainer: Mrs Catherine Claudepierre, Cross-Culture Link

Mon 31

Getting the Best from Your Career

Trainer: Mrs Bénédicte Dabin & Mr Philippe Gérard, Talea Coaching

Nov

Thu 10

Effective Feedback and Best Practices forAppraisals & Performance Reviews

Trainer: Mr Jean-François Cousin, 1-2-Win Executive Coaching

Dec

Wed 7

Digital Marketing and CRM

Trainer: Mr Gregory Birge, F5 Digital Consulting

May

Jun

Personal Development

Management

Professionnal Skills

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FCCS BUSINESS SERVICES

May 2011

French Companies in Singapore

They Rely on Us... and Testify on Our Services auditing, quality and operating modes procedures, but also gathering of precise elements for both technical documentation and procedure/know-how synthesis. Altep, Ingeliance Group, is a product and system engineering company providing services such as maintenance analysis to deliver maintenance plan, failure mode analysis, reliability / maintainability / availability analysis, spares calculation, operating procedures, technical documentation and technical / methodological expert appraisal. Further applications may be extended to

Bobbies is the new loafer's brand with fresh and coloured spirit. It has succeeded in combining a multitude of colours with energetic cuts to offer a casual and relaxed style to the trendy and dynamic urban generation.

Clients and references of Altep in France include DCNS, MBDA, Schneider Electric.

“As we were planning to open an office in Singapore, we first contacted the FCCS in order to test the Singaporean market for one of our activity; the engineering maintenance.

I would like to thank again the team of the FCCS for their dynamism, flexibility, and professionalism! “

Thanks to the business support department of the FCCS, we had 9 business meet-

Contact: Mr Philippe STOREZ Website: www.altep.fr

ladies stylish ballet flats in trendy colours. Bobbies are sold by more than 80 trendsetter retailers in France and abroad and Web orders are coming in from all over the world.

pared and arranged two full days of meetings with retailers and distributors. The selection was very professional and the presence and assistance of one representative from the FCCS during these 12 meetings was extremely helpful.

“Bobbies has decided to go after the Asian market and, as a first step, turned to the French Chamber of Commerce in Singapore to explore the potential in Singapore.

After a first collection dedicated to men driving moccasins, Bobbies is now offering

The FCCS business support team pre-

Petroval is a leading global designer and provider of high technology solutions and expertise to the Oil and Gas industry on a worldwide basis.

of reformers tubes, and many other technical skills such as Probacat® for in situ catalyst sampling, Smartdump® & Cardox® for faster and safer unloading of multibed reactors. • Thermal solutions with infrared thermography analysis for furnaces and tube inserts for heat exchangers.

Its products and services are managed in two business segments: • Reactors & catalysts services with Densicat® for catalyst dense loading in fixed bed reactors, reactor turnaround quality assurance, dense loading

ings with private companies and a governmental agency (A*Star). Through these meetings, we collected a lot of precious information and several opportunities from Singaporean companies as well as French companies based in Singapore. All this information will allow us to build our business plan and help us decide whether we should open a branch in Singapore.

Hopefully, Bobbies will soon be sold in Singapore.” Contact: Mr Alexis MAUGEY Website: www.bobbies.fr

serve our Asian current clients and increase our activities in the Asia-Pacific area.

Petroval contributes in enhancing the reliability and performance of our end-users clients' processes.

From our first visit in Singapore in November 2009 up to now, we had a full and very efficient support from the FCCS team, for the incorporation of our company in Singapore, and for the application for our first Employment Passes. We always had good and practical advices, given with a smile. What else could we expect!”

“Petroval decided end of 2010 to create an affiliate dompany in Singapore to better

Contact: Mr Jean-Pierre SASSOLAS Website: www.petroval.com

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FCCS BUSINESS SERVICES

May 2011

French Companies in Singapore

Newly Set Up Companies through the FCCS Business Support Asia Pacific Solutions (APS) provides top-class total procurement services for industries in the Asia Pacific zone. As part of the Captrade Group's expansion into the area, APS offers a wide range of industrial equipment and spares to support industrial operations. With more than a decade of experience in supplying to a range of services including Oil & Gas, Maritime,

Desipro Pte Ltd (Decathlon Singapore Production) is a subsidiary of Decathlon, a member of the French Oxylane group (41,000 employees, turnover: €6b). Oxylane is a network of fitness and sporting goods companies with more than 610 sports retail stores over the world (including 535 Decathlon in 17 countries). Our

Based in Paris and Singapore, Henry & Siegler is an Integrated Communication Group which supports companies in the development of their public image, products and services, for internal and external purposes. Improving its own interface, H&S has announced the launch of very specialised agencies for 2011.

Mining, Forestry, and Food & Beverage, APS has maintained strong and successful relationships with all our clients. Our team of qualified and professional people within the organisation endeavours to provide continuous high level of customer satisfaction. Contact: Mr Yann BARY Email: yann@ap-sols.com Website: http://ap-sols.com

shops sell sporting goods from major international brands to Oxylane’s own brands including: Quechua, Kalenji, Domyos, Wed’ze, and bTwin, among others. In all, Oxylane has created over 26 brands providing equipment for 32 sports. To manage production and quality control, almost 30 production offices have been opened around the world, mainly located in Asia, North Africa and Europe. Oxylane has decided to base its new production ac-

tichannel campaigns, social media marketing, community management & buzz monitoring, event, video, product launch, e-commerce, interior design...

Consulting – Relational Communication – Design: strategic recommendations, mul-

Yesterday, it took 20 years to build a strong brand image. Thanks to the Internet and digital communication, it is now possible for a brand to make itself heard and gain people’s loyalty within only three years. The individual expects from a brand that it will tell him a story. This is the age of «living brands»: sensual, interactive, secret, unpredictable, instinctive.

The Resilience Institute integrates the latest developments in sport medicine, preventive health, emotional intelligence

and neurobiology into a practical and holistic training methodology for people and leaders to enrich their lives and leadership by mastering their physical, emotional, cognitive and spiritual resources. FCCS members are eligible for a complimentary

tivities for Southeast Asia in Singapore. Our office in Singapore is responsible for: • Sourcing suppliers. • Developing and industrialising products. • Managing new productions in SouthEast of Asia. • Managing and controlling the quality of the goods. Contact: Mr Gregory EXPERTON, GM Email: gregory.experton@oxylane.com Website: www.oxylane.com

In order to build brand effectiveness, we combine the fields of communication, design and marketing, and develop new "brand experiences" for the targeted individuals. Henry & Siegler cultivates emotion beyond fashion.

Contact: Mr Dimitri SIEGLER, Associate Director Email: siegler@henryandsiegler.com Website: www.henryandsiegler.com

online Resilience self-assessment. Contact: Mr Thierry MOSCHETTI, Managing Director Email: thierry.moschetti@resiliencei.com Website: www.resiliencei.com

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May 2011

MEGA helps companies understand and reduce operational complexity, establish successful governance, and manage associated risks.

French Companies in Singapore

To do this, MEGA provides software solutions for business process analysis, enterprise architecture, IT planning, IT systems analysis and design, enterprise governance, risk and compliance, enterprise risk management, operational risk management, internal audit and compliance, complemented by specialised consulting services. MEGA is a recognised vendor by

Gartner and Forrester and supports more than 75,000 users in over 2000 companies and government organisations around the world.

Tinubu Square is the Unique cloud tech company for the Trade Credit Industry.

The Tinubu Square Group has been servicing the largest Credit Insurers, Export Credit Agencies and Exporting Corporations for more than 10 years.

The Tinubu Square Group offers SAAS, Services and Consulting Services to Credit Insurers as well as to Corporations looking for powerful Risk Management tools, at a lower cost.

Contact: Mr Philip VON MEYENBURG, Business Development Manager Email: pvonmeyenburg@mega.com Website: www.mega.com

Contact: Mr Yann BACCON, APAC Manager Email: ybn@tinubu.com Website: www.tinubu.com

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May 2011

Tradeshows in Singapore

BuildTechAsia & InterdecAsia 2011 First edition and ďŹ rst success for the French Pavilion! With over 25,000 square meters of reserved exhibition space, BuildTechAsia is the largest gathering of building technology in Southeast Asia. Held concurrently with InterDecAsia 2011, dedicated to interior decor and retrofitting, this trade show brought major industry players together in a 3-day trade show event.

For the first edition, the French Chamber of Commerce in Singapore (FCCS) organised a French Pavilion at BuildTechAsia & InterdecAsia 2011 occupying 80 sqm at Singapore Expo. 8 French companies showcased their world-class products and services. This

edition was very promising and our French exhibitors gained a lot of contacts on a regional scale. For more information about tradeshows and French Pavilions, please contact Ms Constance Laparra by email at claparra@fccsingapore.com. F

Akrobat is a leader in fall arrest and access systems, Akrobat proposes full safety or access solutions.

seamless and complete CAD and Structural Analysis / Design software suite dedicated to the construction engineering industry.

Atlantic International is a European leader in manufacturing glass-lined water heaters and electric room heaters.

HLC Design specialises in designing decorative accessories and crafting wall decor such as frescoes and trompe-l'oeil through innovative techniques for the interior as well as the exterior.

Blachere Illumination has always developed and expended its lighting activity, with professional and retail range of products. Dragages Singapore is part of Bouygues Construction, one of the foremost construction groups in the world. Dragages has been active in Asia for more than a century and currently employs close to 4,000 people in the region. Graitec is a leading BIM (Building Information Modeling) software provider with a unique

Ragni SA is a French manufacturer of urban lighting luminaires offering a range of decorative, traditional, functional luminaires as well as LED and solar lighting fixtures Script&Go provides innovative software solutions based on its unique technologies of hand-writing and hand-drawing recognition enabling the digitalisation of plans, sketches and technical data for mobile employees.

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May 2011

Tradeshows in Singapore

Upcoming Exhibitions in Singapore The French Chamber of Commerce (FCCS) organises French Pavilions at selected exhibitions in Singapore. The FCCS aims at helping you avoid the hassle of the organisation and save time by taking care of everything from booking of space to all related administrative tasks and logistics. Above all, a pavilion shared with other French companies offers you a better visi-

bility during the exhibition (prime location, joint press and communication campaigns...). To optimise your exhibition, one-to-one meetings with key-decision makers can be scheduled for you during or after the exhibition. For more information, please contact our Business Support unit: bizsupport@fccsingapore.com. F

*BROADCASTASIA 2011

*COMMUNICASIA 2011

21-24 June 2011 Venue: Suntec Exhibition Centre, Singapore Estimated Visitors: 11,000 Exhibitors: 700 BroadcastAsia2011 is THE one-stop knowledge platform for the Broadcasting industry. For the 9th consecutive time, the FCCS will hold a French Pavilion where French companies will demonstrate their know-how and expertise. Website: www.broadcast-asia.com

21-24 June 2011 Venue: Marina Bay Sands, Singapore Estimated Visitors: 27,000 Exhibitors: 1,400 CommunicAsia2011 features a comprehensive myriad of key and emerging technologies from backhaul network, systems integration to software and applications to the end users. For the 9th consecutive time, the FCCS will hold a French Pavilion where French companies will demonstrate their know-how and expertise. Website: www.communicasia.com

* For these exhibitions, the FCCS organises a French Pavilion in collaboration with Ubifrance.

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May 2011

FCCS Event

Forum Travailler Ensemble Singapore: A Successful First Edition More than 60 companies joined us for the first edition! The “Forum Travailler Ensemble” (Working Together Forum) in Singapore was a new initiative that aimed at reinforcing business links between French small & medium sized enterprises and large French groups established in Singapore. This event was organised by the French Chamber of Commerce in Singapore (FCCS) in partnership with the French Foreign Trade Advisors (CCEF) and Ubifrance Singapore.

MORE THAN 60 COMPANIES AND 200 BUSINESS MEETINGS

working opportunities during the coffee break and turnovers.

Throughout the afternoon, our team organised more than 200 business meetings between large companies and SMEs. These 20-minute meetings gave the companies the opportunity to directly discuss their needs and propose solutions.

To end this busy afternoon, our participants were invited to a reception at the French Residence.

Our 130 participants also enjoyed the net-

The feedback of this event was globally very positive and we hope that these meetings will help French large groups and French SME’s strengthen their collaboration! F

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May 2011

FCCS Event

THE PARTICIPATING COMPANIES • Adweb360.Com • Air France KLM • Air Liquide • Akrobat • Albatross Global Solutions • Amundi Singapore • Anakout • Aprim Interior Design • Arcans Consulting • Aria Technologies - ESC • Arkadin • Arsmedia • Atos Origin • Axa Insurance • Banque Transatlantique • Bretwin

• Chopard • Coface Asia Pacific • Crédit Agricole CIB • Crédit Suisse • CVML • Danone • Dragages Singapore • DS Avocats • Dualexpat • Edgilis • Energie Creative • Essilor - Asia Pacific • Gemalto • Group Clestra Hauserman • Harmony & Mobility Consulting • Henry & Siegler

• Ibis • i-Cognitive • Info-Lab • International SOS • Iphub Asia • JCDecaux • L'Agence Singapore • Lumiplan • Mazars • Michelin/SMPT • Nexteps • Open D Asia • Paris Development • Partex International • Pickering Pacific • Quartet FS

• Resources Global Professionals • SDV Logistics • Sing'Theatre • solidiance • STMicroelectronics • Talea Coaching • Thales Solutions Asia • The Resilience Institute • Timeo Performance • Total Oil Asia-Pacific • Victor Buck Services Asia • Viseo Asia • XMS

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May 2011

Asia Committee

The Role of China in the World Economy This Asia Committee Breakfast Talk unveiled Chinaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s role in fostering financial stability and growth in the Asian region and in the world economy. Our speakers examined the challenges that China is facing when dealing with domestic, regional and international economic issues.

Our first speaker, Mr Kelvin Tay, Chief Investment Strategist Singapore at UBS Wealth Management shared his views on China's role in the world economy in the short term, touching on subjects such as the Chinese Yuan, the Government policy and the Chinese property markets.

Our second speaker, Mr Hubert Testard, Head of the Economic Department at the Embassy of France in Singapore, discussed his views on the medium long term challenges facing the Chinese economy by illustrating with concrete examples and figures. F

Challenges of Doing Business in India India is marching ahead at a rapid pace with recession as an almost forgotten term now. With major sectors growing at a steep rate and significant investments in the third quarter of 2010, currently India is one of the most attractive foreign investment destinations. The FCCS Asia Committee organised to-

gether with the Belgium Luxembourg Business Group a Breakfast Talk on the Challenges of Doing Business in India. Mrs Jayne Kuriakose, Resident Attorney & Head, Kochhar & Co, first presented the recent policy, legal and regulatory initiatives impacting investors in India and their effects on business.

Our second guest, Mr Franck de Praetere, Head of SEA, SWIFT, then shared his insights on the subject and presented a relevant case study with some key traffic trends (payments, securities, trades) in India. This joint Breakfast Talk was well received by 40 participants from the Belgian and French communities. F

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May 2011

Asia Committee

Travel Health: Advice to Road Warriors In search of new markets and to lower production costs by shifting production to developing nations, business travels are increasing in range and frequency. Being an executive in Asia often translates into travelling extensively in the region and beyond.

However, the risk profile of some destinations has changed over the years as diseases such as dengue re-emerged and new ones reported. With some relevant tips and good awareness of health risks associated with

travelling, international mobility can be both intense and safe. Our speaker Dr Philippe Guibert, Regional Medical Director at International SOS, highlighted the aspects of travel related health risks, from strategies and trends to prevention measures and information tools. F

Singapore Property Market: Practical Guidelines and Market Outlook Navigating the hassles of buying a property could be, to say the least, cumbersome. In this Asia Committee Meeting Mrs Nathalie Cao, Senior Sales Manager with the multinational real estate agency DTZ, shed some light on the Singaporean property market.

She began by clarifying the central issues involved in buying a property in Singapore â&#x20AC;&#x201C; legal formalities, restrictions as well as taxes and financing. She then presented historical data, price comparisons and property index to support the current market outlook.

According to Nathalie, the current low interest rates, the strong economic growth, as well as liquidity and affordability present a positive outlook and make for a strong case for investment in real estate. F

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May 2011

Energy/Environment Committee

Environment and Climate Change in Southeast Asia Climate Change is widely recognised as a major environmental problem of the modern world. Corporates too, are slowly addressing the threat that climate change poses to peace, security and sustainable development by introducing CSR initiatives around environment and sustainability. Mrs Joëlle Brohier-Meuter, the founder

and director of CSR consultancy Anakout, shared with our members the commitments made during climate summits at Copenhagen and Cancun and what Singapore has already done in this respect. She then touched upon the CSR/ environmental activities that the FCCS Energy and Environment Committee organised in 2010. She ended her insight-

ful talk by giving a few examples of how FCCS members are doing their part to tackle climate change. In this interactive session, participants went on to share the environmental and CSR policy of their organisations and discussed possible activities for the Energy & Environment Committee in 2011. F

Carbon Footprint & Carbon Markets Climate change is redefining company's objectives and opens perspectives for future growth. At the heart of this transformation lies 21st century’s new commodity: “Emission Reductions" that fuels the world's long term vision of sustainable development. The FCCS Energy & Environment Committee invited three speakers to discuss this topic through examples and case studies.

Mr Jean-Christophe Bouglé, Asia Pacific Director of Carbon Team at BNP Paribas, made a presentation on how carbon credits markets work and the current trends in the development of carbon markets. Then our second speaker, Mr David Byrne, responsible for Quality, Health, Safety and Environment as well as the World Class Enterprise improvement programme for Gemalto, outlined the Carbon footprint measurement undertaken by Gemalto in

its 3 main factories in Asia last year using the Bilan Carbone TM methodology. Finally, Mrs Marion Verles, Executive Director of Nexus, focused on Carbon Finance and Development – how one of the world’s biggest commodity market can help tackle poverty and achieve sustainable development. This Breakfast Talk ended with a very active Q&A Session. F

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Entrepreneurs Committee

Best Productivity Tools: Experience Sharing The FCCS Entrepreneurs Committee launched a series of Committee Meetings aiming at sharing experiences, tips and best practices on specific topics relevant to small entities such as entrepreneurs companies. For this first meeting, our entrepreneurs members were invited to exchange on their best productivity tools, on the way to imple-

ment them and how to efficiently use them. We started with a short presentation by Mr Julien Arnaud, CEO of Edgilis, who explained the various productivity tools used in his company, such as CRM, ERP, Cloud services, Communication tools, notes, Mind mapping tools, etc. As this series of meeting aims at being

highly interactive, the participants took the time to discuss and exchanged on their own experience and views of other productivity tools. This “experience sharing” Committee Meeting was especially helpful to our new entrepreneurs as it is not easy to decide which tools to choose when starting a new business. F

A Successful Entrepreneur Journey The Entrepreneurs Committee invited Mr Mohan Mulani, CEO of Harry's Holdings Ltd, to share his entrepreneurial experience. Before joining Harry’s Holdings Ltd as a CEO, Mr Mohan Mulani had a long path of entrepreneur. He first worked in his family’s

textiles trading business as its business development director. In 1990, he started his own business, Transco Holdings Pte Ltd, an investment holding company dealing in consumer electronics trading, food and beverage, property and investment, and successfully developed it in to a multimillion-dollar operation. He stepped down as its managing director in 2000 to focus on building up the Harry’s business, in which he had a stake. From 2002 to 2006, Mohan was director at Harry’s International Pte Ltd. He restructured the company into Harry’s Holdings Ltd in 2006 and became its CEO. Today, Mohan continues to drive the business with his untiring energy, enthusiasm and positive outlook. This very interactive session was well-received by all our participants who had the opportunity to exchange on several topics and to receive advices and new tips. F

Social Media Platforms: How to Create Passionate Communities and Build Brand Awareness With a sudden surge in internet penetration, social media has become a force brand managers cannot afford to ignore. Ms Alexis Cheong, Social Media Manager and Mr Alexandre Olmedo, CEO at Eyeka Asia Pacific, demonstrated the huge influence that social platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube are wielding in today’s internet driven consumer markets. With an eclectic mix of case studies and theory, our speakers explained how companies can create passionate online communities and build brand awareness. They detailed how companies should use the plethora of options available on Facebook / Twitter to grow business and listed 5 communication strategies which companies can use to effectively engage with their customers.

The presentation definitely made a case for why companies and entrepreneurs should invest online and integrate social media into their strategic marketing mix. It was a great opportunity for attendees to have a clear and detailed overview of social media. F

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Finance Committee / Legal & Tax Committee

Managing Your Retirement & Saving Plans: Strategies to Accomplish Your Goals “I never attempt to make money on the stock market. I buy on the assumption that they could close the market the next day and not reopen it for five years”. Warren Buffett Everyone wants to have a comfortable retirement, but without adequate planning it probably won't happen. Mr Scott Mitchell, Senior Vice President at Ipac Financial

Planning and Mr Jean-Philippe Lionnet, Investment adviser at Meyado, shared their wisdom to put the participants on the road to successful retirement planning.

be shaped by several factors, including your age, time horizon, tax bracket, and risk tolerance; diversifying investments in a portfolio helps to manage risk.

The steps they listed included: starting investing as early as possible; setting goals on when to retire and what kind of lifestyle would you like post retirement; choosing the right investments - your portfolio will

The interesting talk was sprinkled with vivid examples of financial planning. It was a great opportunity for our attendees to have a clear and detailed overview of retirement planning. F

M&A: Delivering Deal Value in East Asia? Study after study puts the failure rate of mergers and acquisitions somewhere between 70% and 90%. These figures are even higher for cross border M&A in East Asia. To better understand key issues and potential solutions to achieve successful deals in the region, this Committee Meeting focused on how to deliver the deal value by actions taken before, during and

immediately after the execution of the transaction. Our two speakers, Mr Jacques Pickering, founder and Managing Director of Pickering Pacific and Mr Ludovic Sichere, French Associate Director at KPMG Transaction Services, exchanged with the audience on the following points: the M&A strategy,

identification of suitable targets, proper due diligence and valuation, the preparation of day-one (i.e., the deal’s closing date) to the effective integration of the acquired business within the new parent business. Finally, our speakers shared experiences of failed and successful M&A transactions in the region. F

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Human Resources Committee

Unconventional Leadership for Uncertain Times In this interactive Breakfast Talk, Mr JeanFranĂ§ois Cousin, Managing Director of 1-2-WIN Executive Coaching and leadership development author, drew from his intense interactions with CEOs confronted to 2008-2009 business troubles, recent research and books, to suggest concrete leadership features that could help managers and their teams succeed through

these uncertain times. Mr Cousin highlighted different aspects of leadership by showing inspirational videos and taking interesting and relevant examples from occupations as diverse as orchestra-conductors. He drew from recent research done by Harvard Business School, McKinsey and Cambridge Associ-

ates on effective leadership and shared frameworks which helped the participants reflect on their leadership styles. This talk was a great opportunity for over 20 attendees to have a concrete overview of the leadership and discussed further on the topic during an open discussion between the committee and the speaker. F

How to Recruit EfďŹ ciently in Asia? Recruiting in Asia is not an easy process. The shortage of qualified candidates and the complexity of each country render the process quite tiresome. Foreign companies must study the issues carefully before proceeding to recruit; however, with careful planning they can locate and recruit qualified candidates for their offices throughout Asia.

Our HR Committee invited Mr Olivier HuiBon-Hoa, General Manager Asia for BeThe1 to present the complete recruitment process for organisations that are searching for talent in Asia. He pointed out factors or events that can significantly impact the success or failure of a recruitment and suggested practical improvements enabling organisations to increase

the quality of their recruitment process in Asia. This very interactive Breakfast Talk ended with a Q&A session where our 25 attendees had the opportunity to get practical advice from our speaker. The participants found the talk on this important topic very useful for their recruitments in the future. F

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Luxury and Retail Committee

Luxury Networking Evening @ FENDI Marina Bay Sands The Luxury & Retail Committee of the French Chamber of Commerce and the Italian Chamber of Commerce invited all their members and friends to celebrate

Christmas at FENDI Marina Bay Sands. This evening represented a wonderful opportunity to network with the members from the Italian Chamber of Commerce in

a relaxed environment. A luxury atmosphere, great wines and fine food were the perfect combination for a successful evening of networking. F

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R&D Committee

Maximising Value via Spin-Offs at A*STAR Technology Transfer management and IP sharing are sensitive issues. Our speaker, Mr Anand Govindaluri, Senior Vice President & Head of the Investment & SpinOff Management (ISM) Division at Exploit Technologies, A*STAR, presented Exploit Technologiesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; policy in this specific field. Exploit Technologies, the strategic marketing and commercialisation arm of the

Singapore Policy in Science and Technology Mr Walid Benzarti, AttachĂŠ for Science & Higher Education, French Embassy, gave a detailed and comprehensive overview of Singapore policy in Science and Technology. His presentation provided with the main facts and figures related to national public

and private funding, scientific thrusts as well as an overview of the human resources capabilities in the field. This work also discussed the organisation of the R&D system in Singapore presenting the different key players in Research, the private sector role and the government objectives for the five upcoming years. F

Joint Meeting with SGC: Visit to EADS IW For the first time, the R&D Committee of the FCCS had a joint meeting with the R&D Committee of the Singaporean-German Chamber of Industry and Commerce (SGC). The meeting was arranged at the premises of the research centre network for EADS. The building is owned by Eurocopter, the world's leading helicopter manufacturer at the Seletar Aerospace Park. Teams from EADS and Eurocopter

visit started at the helicopter hanger, where a number of ordered helicopters were being fitted with the necessary add-ons, as per customer requests. Participants could also experience the helicopter flying simulator. The two R&D groups decided to explore future collaborations and will be meeting in a steering group to discuss topics and site visits. F

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IT Committee

Leveraging Lifelike 3D Experiences to Deliver Strategic Business Values Lifelike 3D product content can be used outside of engineering and non-engineering users can leverage that content to create high-performing, interactive, 3D experiences. All of the rich 3D product information in the enterprise can be used to build these experiences. Content creators outside of engi-

ICT Night The FCCS launched dedicated networking series, aiming at gathering people from one specific sector. For this special night, we invited all our IT experts to join us for a drink at Wine Connection, Robertson Walk. This evening gathered more a good attendance of members involved in the InfoCom sector, who shared on ICT related topics and exchanged on their practical experiences. F

neering can now make full use of the 3D product definition and contextualise it for their desired audience whether it is an interactive sales configurator for a user in marketing or sales, a 3D work instruction for a user in manufacturing, or a 3D gamelike experience for anyone else. This digital content creation returns incredible operational and strategic benefits to the com-

pany, while providing improved and innovative ways for all users to interact with highly contextualised and relevant 3D content. Mr Eric Deleglise, Chief Technical Officer of Veldis Experience, presented an overview of 3D lifelike experiences and their impact on companies in terms of communications, operations, resources, and costs. F

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Marketing & Communication Committee

L'Oréal's Marketing Strategy in APAC Successful business development into the Asia Pacific region involves the development and the implementation of a comprehensive marketing strategy. The FCCS Marketing & Communication

Committee invited Mrs Isabelle Svartstein-Bourjade, General Manager Luxury Products Division of L’Oréal for the ASEAN region and India to share her views on Marketing strategies for the Asia zone.

Isabelle discussed several points such as standardisation or adaptation of the marketing approach, the specificities of the APAC markets and how to successfully handle and support their distribution networks. F

Into the Mind of Fast Changing Consumers in Emerging Markets Emerging markets are poised to dominate global consumption and by 2015, they are forecasted to account for 37% of global consumption. This makes emerging markets a crucial point of attention for global consumer packaged goods firms such as Unilever and P&G but also for many other companies which look for new spaces for growth. Understanding consumers in these markets sounds challenging as they seem to

be radically different from ‘mature’ consumers, and radically different themselves living in various regions all over the world, with different mindsets, education levels, needs, buying power, etc. But actually their ‘emerging’ status makes them share many fundamental aspirations, psychological and social needs… that ultimately define their expectations towards brands. Because the strongest brands are those

built on universal values and aspirations, Mr Alexandre Hacpille, Global Business Director, Ogilvy & Mather AP, first focused on identifying some of these fundamental similarities between consumers in emerging markets. Then, he threw light on the latest evolutions of these fast changing consumers in terms of behaviour, aspirations and expectations, emphasising their implications for brand stewardship and business strategy in this scenario. F

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Events & Gala Committee

Galette des Rois 2011 The French Business Community could not miss its traditional Galette des Rois! We have been following this French tradition of celebrating the Epiphany for several years now, and for the 2011 celebration, we were successful again with more than 90 participants! Our guests enjoyed a nice cheese and cold cuts buffet with a free flow of cider and of course the famous Kingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Pie! Held at Wine Connection at Cuppage Terrace, the event allowed our members and their guests to network in a nice and relaxed outdoor environment. We are already looking forward to the next Galette des Rois! But in the meantime and hopefully for us, we have plenty other networking events to mingle and have fun! F

Business + Gastronomy = FCCS Monthly Luncheons! Every first Friday of each month, the FCCS organises a business luncheon in a French restaurant, every time in a new venue with a different menu. These informal networking sessions create excellent opportunities to develop new contacts and exchange ideas on business issues while enjoying some great French food. Our last two luncheons took place at Le Picotin Bistro & Bar and Le Saint Julien Restaurant. Check our next business luncheons on our website www.fccsingapore.com and broaden your network! F

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May 2011

Events & Gala Committee

Networking Series French Business Schools: A Successful Second Edition! Further to the successful first edition in June 2010, we organised a second evening at Harryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Boat Quay. Several French Business Schools joined us for this event and we take this opportunity to thank them again for their active support in the success of this special evening! F

Networking Series - French Engineers Schools: A Well Appreciated Initiative Following the great success of the French Business Schools Night, we launched a special Networking Event for French Engineer Schools. For the first time, the FCCS gathered all the former students from French Engineer Schools living and working in Singapore! Despite the rain, this event was really appreciated and the participants enjoyed the initiative! F

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FCCS New Members

FCCS New Members We are very pleased to welcome the following new members who recently joined the French Business Community. Please visit www.fccsingapore.com for more details.

CORPORATE MEMBERS ALBATROSS GLOBAL SOLUTIONS SG

HARRY'S CATERING COMPANY

Contact: Mr Nicolas JEANJEAN, Director Website: www.albatrossasia.com Sector: Luxury Goods

Contact: Mr Mohan MULANI, CEO Website: www.harrys.com.sg Sector: Food / Beverage / Catering / Hospitality

ALCATEL-LUCENT

HENRY & SIEGLER

Contact: Mr Terence YAP, Managing Director, Singapore & Brunei Website: www.alcatel-lucent.com Sector: Electric / Electronic / Telecom

Contact: Mr Dimitri SIEGLER, Associate Director Website: www.henryandsiegler.com Sector: Media / Communication

AMUNDI SINGAPORE

Contact: Ms Alice GOSSE, Market Leader, Futurestep ASEAN Website: www.kornferry.com Sector: Human Resources

Contact: Mr Lionel FLORENTIN, Director Head of Distribution Southeast Asia Website: www.amundi.com/sgp/home Sector: Bank / Finance / Investments

AXA ASSISTANCE SINGAPORE Contact: Mr Dominic ANG, Managing Director Website: www.axa-assistance.com.sg Sector: Insurance & Reinsurance / Medical Assistance

BC CONSULTING INTERNATIONAL Contact: Mr Etienne SALVAN, Manager Website: www.bcconsulting.fr Sector: Auditors / Law Firms / Consultants

CARMEUSE TRADING & SERVICES Contact: Mr Pierre MAERTEN, Chief Representative Website: www.carmeuse.com Sector: Chemicals

DHL GLOBAL FORWARDING Contact: Mr Amadou DIALLO, CEO, Africa & South Asia Pacific Website: www.dhl.com Sector: Forwarding / Shipping / Relocation & Removal Services

ESFE Contact: Mr Valentin HANNS, Managing Director Website: www.ecagroup.com Sector: BTP / Environment / Transportation

KORN/FERRY INTERNATIONAL

L'ANGELUS Contact: Mr Philippe HOYEZ, Founder & Managing Director Sector: Food / Beverage / Catering / Hospitality

SICA SEA Contact: Mr Bruno LEURIDAN, CEO Website: www.sica-kappa.com Sector: Oil / Piping

SORBONNE UNIVERSITY INTERNATIONAL LAW SCHOOL Contact: Mr Louis VOGEL, Professor and Rector of the University Website: www.sorbonne-universites.fr Sector: Education & Training

STONE FOREST ACCOUNTSERVE Contact: Ms Olivia YEOH, General Manager Website: www.stoneforest.com.sg Sector: Human Resources

THE RESILIENCE INSTITUTE Contact: Mr Thierry MOSCHETTI, Managing Director Website: www.resiliencei.com Sector: Human Resources

UBISOFT SINGAPORE Contact: Mr Olivier DE ROTALIER, Managing Director Website: www.ubisoftgroup.com Sector: Information Technologies & Computer

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FCCS CLUB EVENTS

May 2011

FCCS New Members

ASSOCIATE MEMBERS ANGLISS SINGAPORE - AEQUITAS GOURMET Contact: Mr Pierre-Yves BIZIEN, General Manager Website: www.angliss.com.sg Sector: Food & Beverages

DIRECT LINK WORLDWIDE DISTRIBUTION Contact: Mr Bruno KRELLSTEIN, Asia-Pacific Operations Manager Website: www.directlink.com Sector: Post

INFO LAB Contact: Mr Jean-Franรงois GENEST, Sr. VP, Sales & Marketing Website: www.info-lab.com Sector: Information Technologies & Computer

UBS AG Contact: Mr Andreas REBER, Managing Director Website: www.ubs.com Sector: Bank / Finance / Investments

ENTREPRENEUR MEMBERS ADWEB360.COM

IN EVENTS

Contact: Mr Vincent LAPORTE, Managing Director Website: www.adweb360.com Sector: Information Technologies & Computer

Contact: Mrs Isabelle NILO, Managing Director Sector: Events Management

DATAOPS Contact: Mr Sithara SISOMBAT, Storage and Backup Consultant Website: www.dataops.net Sector: Information Technologies & Computer

FOTEGRAFIK Contact: Mr Xavier LEPRETRE, Program Manager Website: www.fotegrafik.com Sector: Information Technologies & Computer

FOXYSALES Contact: Mrs Alexia SICHERE, Managing Director Website: www.foxysales.com Sector: Retail & Distribution

GREEN A CONSULTANTS

JULES & JIM Contact: Ms Camille BESANCON, General Manager Sector: Interior Design

L'EXPEDITION Contact: Mr. Olivier MERMET, Managing Director Website: www.lexpedition.blogspot.com Sector: Media / Communication

SOLIDIANCE Contact: Mr Damien DUHAMEL, Managing Partner Asia Pacific Website: www.solidiance.com Sector: Auditors / Law Firms / Consultants

THE CLINIC @ ONE GEORGE STREET Contact: Mr Eric BENGHOZI, Managing Director Website: www.themedicalpractice.com.sg Sector: Medical Assistance

Contact: Mrs Farizan d'AVEZAC de MORAN, Senior Partner Sector: Auditors / Law Firms / Consultants

INDIVIDUAL MEMBERS BIOSPHERE CAPITAL Sector: Consultant

MR ANANT THATTEY, New Projects Finance & Origination,

DR RACHID YAZAMI, Principal Scientist, NANYANG TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY (NTU) Sector: Alternative energy

MR DANIEL KWINTNER, Director, INGENIOUS DESIGN Sector: Media / Communication

MR Cร DRIC GOULIARDON, COO, PIXELMETRIX CORPORATION Sector: Information Technologies & Computer

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FOCUS MAGAZINE

FCCS CLUB EVENTS

May 2011

FCCS Privilege Card

FCCS Privilege Card Terms & conditions apply, visit www.fccsingapore.com for more details. AIR FRANCE - Free upgrade for new Flying Blue members from Ivory to SILVER.

AGS FOUR WINDS - Up to 30 days free storage rent in Singapore. - 1 hour handyman service free.

AU PETIT SALUT - Special rate for use of private dining room.

BRASSERIE WOLF - 15% off total bill at Brasserie Wolf. - 10% off total bill at Esmirada Orchard, Bodega and Esmirada at The Pier.

BRANDSFEVER - $10 store credit for a one-time registration.

CITROËN TT SINGAPORE - 5% of discount for the FCCS members.

CLUB MED - Pay 5 nights & stay 7 in selected Asian resorts.

EDITIONS DIDIER MILLET (EDM) - 20% off on specific titles with free delivery or 40% off on specific titles with self-collection.

FOXYSALES - A permanent 10% discount on your orders.

FRENCH TERROIRS - 10% discount for all wines including a free gift for 6 bottles purchase. - 15% discount for food. - 10% discount for corporates above 300 SGD on all our products.

GRAND MERCURE ROXY HOTEL - 15% off on diner at selected restaurants. - 10% off Best Available Rate for guest rooms.

HARRY’S CATERING COMPANY - 10% off at all Harry's outlets in Singapore. - Harry's Premium Lager Beer @ S$9 nett.

HILTON SINGAPORE HOTEL - 10% off Journey to Vineyards of France wine promotion at Kaspia Bar.

IBIS - 25% off on Taste Menu all-day dining.

NEVER 2LATE 2 BE FIT - 1-on-1 training: 1 free session for every 5 kgs lost. - Bootcamp: 1 free session for every 3 kgs lost.

PETIT BATEAU - 10% off regular items.

RAFFLES HOTEL, SINGAPORE - 15% off all Food & Beverage outlets. - 15% off Meeting and Banquet packages.

RASA SENTOSA RESORT, SINGAPORE - 15% off total Food bill at Barnacles Restaurant. - 15% off total Food & Beverage bill at Trapizza.

SEPHORA - 10% discount for minimum S$60 spent . - 15% off any service at Bliss Spa.

ST REGIS - 20% reduction at Brasserie Les Saveurs and Labrezza Food and Beverage. - 25% reduction at the Astor Bar.

SURVIVAL CHIC - 15% off 1 year of exclusive food, wine, art, leisure and VIP invitations.

THE RESILIENCE INSTITUTE - 1 complimentary Diagnostic.

TRADERS HOTEL, SINGAPORE - 15% off Food & Beverage at F&B outlet.

UNIQGIFTTM - 10% off all gift boxes purchased online.

VUE PRIVÉE - 15% off L’Aventurier series (100 editions) and VP lifestyle products.

WINE CONNECTION - 10% for corporate orders $500-$999. - 15% for corporate orders $1,000-$1999. - 20% for corporate orders $2,000 and above.

WINES2U - 15% off on Champagne Moutard. - 10% off on all other wines for a minimum order of 12 bottles per purchase.

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