The Magazine of the French Chamber of Commerce in Singapore | www.fccsingapore.com
Retail Zoom Luxury & the New Era of Personalisation
travel & hospitality At the Epicentre of Heritage & Elegance
tech zoom Tipsy Tech: Chatbots & Wine
1 co n t e n t s
Cover 17
Put on the Map: Singapore
11
20
Fashion-forward Little Treasures
21
Brick-and-Mortar gets an Upgrade
05
22
07
23
Edito
Luxury & the New Era of Personalisation
Short News
25
Customer Relationship: Is it still possible to Innovate?
14
Patron Member Spotlight: Pernod Ricard
24
Tipsy Tech: Chatbots & Wine
25
The Consumer in the Age of Data
26
Welcome to Changi
Chamber News
28
38
30
42
32
62
33
64
Business Services
France takes to the Skies
08
42
At the Epicentre of Heritage & Elegance Seeing the World as Customers do A Consumer-Centric Duty of Care
French Chamber Events New Members As seen on So Chic
35
The Learning Journey: Engage to Impact
36
Customer Experience in B2B2C: A look at the new Sodexo APAC House
30
68 FOCUS MAGAZINE
|
I ssue 6 8
3 F r e n c h C h a m b e r Pat r o n m e m b e r s
French Chamber Singapore
The French Chamber of Commerce in Singapore would like to thank its Patron Members for their continuous support.
Focus is published by the French Chamber of Commerce in Singapore. The views and opinions expressed in its columns do not necessarily reflect those of the Chamber’s members and management.
Director of Publication Carine Lespayandel Production Editor Joe Han Lim Sub-Editor Hélène Sayaphommy Design & Layout Jeremy Soh Advertising Joe Han Lim Colour Separation & Printing Times Printers Cover Image Created by vectorpouch - Freepik
Issue 68 4,000 copies MCI (P) 070/07/2018
French Chamber of Commerce in Singapore 541 Orchard Road #09-01 Liat Towers Singapore 238881 Tel: +65 6933 1350 Fax: +65 6933 1398 www.fccsingapore.com info@fccsingapore.com FOCUS MAGAZINE
|
I ssue 6 8
life.augmented is our contribution to people’s lives ST is a world leader in providing semiconductor solutions that make a positive contribution to people’s lives, both today and in the future.
For more information, please visit www.st.com
5 G u e s t e di to r ’ s n ot e
Isaline Duminil
Marketing Director, JCDecaux Co-President, French Chamber Marketing & Digital Communication Committee
O
rganisations now look beyond the action of customers purchasing the product, but also the influence of brands and relationships with consumers. These relationships are a product of multiple touchpoints involving engagement and experiences, built on conversations, media interactions and customer service, all of which are key to the consumer journey. In an age where brand loyalty is dwindling, organisations are pressed to make consumers feel valued and encourage a more considered approach in the consumers’ life cycle which does not only include the path to purchase. This is compounded by the rise of global consumers and the need to build relationships across borders. The advent of data and technology presents possibilities to address such challenges, for instance, through Data Management Platforms and Customer-Relationship Management. To elevate consumer engagement via these channels, harnessing the power of AI offers limitless potential.
In this issue, organisations from various sectors discuss how they reach out to consumers at key touchpoints, beginning from first contact, subsequent interactions and how this paves the way for prolonged relationships. What is common across different consumer journeys, is how organisations adopt a consumer-centric approach to create moments that contribute to the overall experience, be it among business stakeholders, retail customers, travellers or even citizens. This could be through personalisation or an emphasis on the experiential element of brick-and-mortar retail. Prompting interactions at the right place and right time, such as through digital OOH advertising, must be delivered at crucial moments of the consumer journey, for example in the half hour prior to shopping, known as the last window of influence. Today’s consumers seek out the exceptional and brands need to entertain while engaging consumers in the course of their journey for meaningful relationships. F
FOCUS MAGAZINE
|
I ssue 6 8
© LIONEL BONAVENTURE / AFP
INTERNATIONAL NEWS 24/7
© GÉDÉON
france24.com Red C=0 , M=100, Y=78, K=0 Pantone 199C R=228 , G=2, B=48 Black C=0, M=0, Y=0, K=100
Available on in English CH.159, in French à la carte CH.686
The Innovation Centre will showcase advanced technologies in identity security and featured solutions include an automated air passenger boarding process, advanced mobility solutions, IoT innovation, video analytics, mobile payments and a new generation biometric and display payment card. “We are delighted to strengthen our presence in Singapore as it’s an ideal backdrop for building the future of digital security in APAC,” said Didier Lamouche, Chief Executive Officer, IDEMIA. F
application development,” said Mr. Tan Kong Hwee, Executive Director, Capital Goods & Mobility, Singapore Economic Development Board.
“Thales’ first Digital Factory in Asia also serves as an example of how industrial companies are riding the digitalisation wave, and creating exciting jobs for Singaporeans in specialised areas such as data analytics, cybersecurity, machine learning, and software
“Beyond capitalising on the strong innovation landscape, we also hope to develop and deepen the talent pool of digital specialists in Singapore.” said Olivier Flous, Vice-President Digital Transformation and Digital Factory of Thales. F
7 I ssue 6 8
Located at 21 Media Circle, IDEMIA’s headquarters incorporates an Innovation Centre highlighting the Group’s commitment to the region while reinforcing Idemia’s vision of securing identities with convenience in this digital transformation era.
Thales announced the addition of Singapore to its Digital Factory network to accelerate innovation and digital transformation for the Group and its customers, in Asia-Pacific. It will deliver innovative digital solutions to Thales customers in the region in a collaborative way.
|
IDEMIA launches Asia Pacific headquarters and Innovation Centre in Singapore
Thales digital factory expands to Singapore
FOCUS MAGAZINE
short news
Tereos opens R&D centre in Singapore bringing innovative solutions to the food sector in Asia Pacific Tereos announced the official opening of the Tereos Asia R&D Centre, in collaboration and supported by the Singapore Economic Development Board.
“
With an aim to provide novel solutions on key local applications to the Asian markets, Tereos food scientists at the newly established R&D Centre will leverage the Group’s extensive portfolio of products to address the regional demand for noodles, bakery products, confectionery, teas, sauces, snacks and beverages.
Developing the added value of our products and services is at the heart of Tereos’ commitment to its customers. By setting up our new R&D Centre in Singapore, we have chosen to be at the heart of a region that has worldrenowned expertise and enables us to act as closely as possible to better meet the needs of consumers, said Alexis Duval, Chief Executive Officer, Tereos. F
”
Dinner & Dance Package Make it a night to remember as you celebrate your corporate gatherings or gala dinner at Novotel Singapore Clarke Quay. Unwind with the team over a sumptuous spread in an array of stylish venues including a resplendent high-ceiling pillarless Phoenix Grand Ballroom that can hold up to 450 guests overlooking the Singapore city skyline. All Days (Monday – Sunday) Standard Package Chinese Set Menu at $750++ per table
Phoenix Grand Ballroom Minimum 25 tables Maximum 43 tables (excl. dance floor)
Cinnamon Ballroom Minimum 8 tables Maximum 24 tables (excl. dance floor)
The Package includes: ▪ Choice of 8-course Cantonese Cuisine prepared by award-winning Dragon Phoenix Restaurant ▪ Two (2) x VIP Table set-up (with fresh floral centrepieces) ▪ Complimentary stage set-up with usage of in-house audio-visual system ▪ Complimentary assorted nuts during pre-event reception ▪ Free flow of soft drinks (excl. juices) for up to four (4) hours ▪ Special rate for beer orders at $680++ per 30 litres barrel ▪ Special rate for house wines orders at $32.00++ per Bottle. Corkage charge of $20.00++ per bottle of duty paid & sealed wines brought in ▪ Waiver of corkage charges for duty paid & sealed hard liquor brought in ▪ Complimentary parking coupons for up to 20% of your confirmed attendance ▪ One (1) complimentary weekday Buffet Lunch voucher for 2 persons at The Square Restaurant as Lucky Draw Prize ▪ Complimentary One bottle of house wine per confirmed table ▪ Complimentary One barrel of 30L beer ▪ Door gift for all invited guests
Additional perks* (for minimum 25 tables confirmed): • Food tasting for committee members for up to 10 persons • One (1) complimentary weekday Buffet Lunch voucher for 2 persons at The Square Restaurant as Lucky Draw Prize • Day use room for committee members from 1400 hours to 1900 hours
Terms & Conditions: (1) Rates quoted are subject to prevailing government taxes of 7% GST & 10% service charge. (2) Novotel Singapore Clarke Quay reserves the right to amend any terms & conditions without prior notice. (3) Other terms & conditions apply.
177A River Valley Road Singapore 179031 • Phone +65 6338 3333 novotelclarkequay.com • accorhotels.com • H5993@accor.com
Ipsen Group inaugurates new office in Singapore
ENGIE announced it will be relocating its Asia Pacific headquarters to Singapore in 2019, and the new regional headquarters will support innovations for sustainable energ y management solutions. “As the leading energ y, technolog y and economic hub in Asia Pacific, Singapore is a natural choice for us. Many of our customers are based here with businesses across the region, our move will put us closer to them, giving them better access to ENGIE solutions and ser vices,” said Paul Maguire, CEO of ENGIE Asia Pacific. “Singapore has been playing an active role in the transformation of the global energ y sector and ENGIE’s latest investment will help catalyse the development of innovative solutions for the region’s growing demand for smart and sustainable energ y,” said L ee Eng Keat, Executive Director, Commercial & Professional Ser vices, EDB. F
I ssue 6 8
9
VIRTUOS raises $15M and sets up new HQ and R&D center in Singapore
|
ENGIE to move Asia Pacific HQ to Singapore
In the last three years, the Ipsen staff in Singapore has quadrupled and further expansion is planned for years to come. Ipsen’s new and larger office sustains their ambition to increase visibility in the region, identify new strategic business opportunities and accelerate product innovation in Asia. F
FOCUS MAGAZINE
Ipsen, a biopharmaceutical group dedicated to improving lives through innovative medicines in specialty care (oncology , neuroscience and rare diseases) and Consumer Healthcare, inaugurated a new office in the Central Business District of Singapore on 1 November 2018.
V ir tuos, a video game content production company specialising in game development and AAA ‘ Triple A’ 3D art production for console and mobile titles, announced the successful completion of a USD 15 million funding round, plus the setup of a new headquarters and R&D centre in Singapore. “ The video game development industr y is maturing and so is V irtuos. Today we can handle the increasingly complex in-game experience demanded by players on a growing and increasingly powerful range of platforms,” said Gilles Langourieux, CEO of V irtuos.
“
The company’s new structure, expanded funding, and R&D centre in Singapore will ensure that we stay at the forefront of game technology innovation and continue to be the ideal partner for studios that are developing blockbuster games. F
”
Sodexo Wins Champions of Good Award by National Volunteer & Philanthropy Centre Singapore Sodexo, world leader in Q uality of Life ser vices has been recognised as a Champions of Good for the second consecutive year by the National Volunteer & Philanthropy Centre (NVPC). The award recognises companies in Singapore that are exemplar y in giving and sustaining a compassionate society. Johnpaul Dimech, Region Chair, Sodexo Asia Pacific, “ We are honoured to be recognised as a Champions of Good by NVPC once again. This shows our commitment to create a Better Tomorrow for ever yone, not just for the customers we ser ve, but for the world at large. We have put in place ambitious but strategic goals in our Corporate Responsibility roadmap, and are working towards making them a reality with the efforts of the entire Sodexo team and community partners.” F
Alcheme Skincare wins Buro 24/7 Best Digital Startup Award
11
FOCUS MAGAZINE
|
I ssue 6 8
Alcheme has been founded by our French members Tuyen Lamy and Constance Mandefield and has officially launched their skincare range in May 2018 in Singapore. Alcheme Skincare has won Buro 24/7 Best Digital Startup award this August. F
Arkadin wins at Frost & Sullivan 2018 Asia Pacific ICT Awards Arkadin has been recognised as 2018 Frost & Sullivan Asia-Pacific Enterprise Collaboration Product Line Strateg y L eadership Award. “ The rise of various digital platforms is increasing the complexity of enterprise collaborations and communications. Lack of expertise and planning capabilities are the key challenges in executing digital transformation in organisations,” said Chong Zi Ning, Research Analyst, ICT Practice, Frost & Sullivan, regarding Arkadin’s award. “Arkadin is one of the first companies to embrace digital transformation in its operations. Enhancing the integration of cloud meeting capabilities in the Microsoft UCaaS system, the company continues to deliver best-inclass collaboration experience in Asia Pacific. F
short news
TransferTo invests in OXIO to fuel growth and technology innovation
FOCUS MAGAZINE
|
I ssue 6 8
12
TransferTo announced its investment into OXIO, a mobile internet exchange that leverages on blockchain technologies. The business partnership will provide TransferTo with access to OXIO’s technolog y and marketplace to buy and sell mobile internet data and deliver greater value to its network partners. TransferTo will be able to create a more sustainable solution to increase its technolog y capabilities to improve the sale and usage of mobile data.
Decathlon opens biggest store in Kallang, a 24-hour Decathlon Lab Integrating sports and lifestyle, Decathlon Lab provides experience zones and free sports sessions at free-to-play areas. Users’ purchase experience will be technolog y-enhanced with connected fitting rooms, mobile payment solutions and a conveyor belt that manages online orders. “ We decided to call it our “Decathlon Lab”, because a Lab is a disruptive and innovative place where we test new solutions”, says Yves Claude, CEO Decathlon Singapore. Partnering with Sport Singapore, Decathlon Singapore Lab will also host an Active Health Lab where users can undergo a free health assessment to find out more about their current health and fitness levels. F
F
EDF launches the first French microgrid demonstrator operational in Singapore EDF, Enedis and the Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU) have launched the MASERA microgrid project (Microgrid for Affordable and Sustainable Electricity in Remote Areas), as part of the Singapore International Energ y Week and the 2018 France-Singapore Year of Innovation. EDF ’s MASERA is part of NTU’s offshore microgrid testbed known as REIDS (Renewable Energ y Integration Demonstrator – Singapore). L ocated at Semakau landfill, NTU’s REIDS is the region’s first offshore microgrid testbed which integrates multiple renewable energ y sources to develop solutions to tackle regional electricity issues.
The MASERA project is the demonstration of an industrial, innovative and easily deployable solution. It will allow EDF to support economic development in South-East Asia and therefore improve the quality of life of communities. F
Launched by Prime Minister of France Edouard Philippe on 21 Februar y 2018, Team France Export is a reform of the French public support for exports led by Business France. In Singapore, a regional hub for South East Asia and France’s 2nd largest bilateral trade surplus, the French Chamber in Singapore will be the one-stop shop for French companies developing their business in the countr y, in close coordination with the French Embassy. “ W ith this ambitious public-private partnership, Business France chose to work exclusively in Singapore with the French Chamber in Singapore, a reference organisation in the countr y. Team France Export in Singapore, a symbolic and structuring market in the world trade, is a simplification and a clarification of the public support for exports. It is also a positive message for the French and Singaporean business community as well as for the companies based in France,” highlights Christophe L ecourtier.
Grouping all the public actors supporting the internationalisation of French companies and the private actors providing business solutions, within a “ Team France Export ”, aims at offering to French SMEs and mid-sized companies a readable, efficient and adapted mechanism. It offers packaged solutions, from helping companies to prepare their international development (within each French regions, where the “single export windows” are being implemented) to each foreign markets where a “unique Team France Export correspondent ” will support and direct SMEs towards tailored solutions. F
I ssue 6 8 |
Mr Pascal Lambert, President of the French Chamber of Commerce in Singapore, member of Team France Expor t since 1 Januar y 2019, met with H.E. Marc Abensour, Ambassador of France to Singapore and Christophe Lecourtier, CEO of Business France to celebrate the implementation of the Team France Export public ser vice concession.
13
FOCUS MAGAZINE
The French Chamber in Singapore joins Team France Export
“ The French Chamber of Commerce is proud to have been chosen for this mission to support French SMEs and mid-sized companies in their development and to join Team France Export. Through its longstanding and strong relationships with the French ecosystem and the Singaporean economic and industrial environment, the French Chamber will contribute to accelerate the development of business relations between France and Singapore. We are confident in the implementation of this new partnership and in the achievement of our common goals,” declares Pascal Lambert, President of the French Chamber in Singapore.
patron member
spotlight
I n g r eat spi r i t s
& convivialité In our interview with a Patron Member, Cedric Retailleau, Managing Director Singapore, Thailand, Cambodia, Indonesia, Other S.E.A. countries of Pernod Ricard shares about his career, the company’s strategy and on being Créateurs de Convivialité.
Do share with us about your career at Pernod Ricard. So far it has been like in the Mafia, one step in, all life in! Since joining in 2000, it has been a very diverse and great journey! The Group being truly worldwide, I’ve had the opportunity to work in many different countries with very exciting challenges like Cuba, Georgia, Armenia, Venezuela, Mexico, Italy and now Singapore. The Group being also very balanced gender-wise but also age-wise, it gives the opportunity to young people to grow in the organisation.
Could you tell us about Pernod Ricard’s strategy in Asia, specifically in Singapore? Asia is very important for Pernod Ricard, being the fast-growing region at the moment. We are particularly accelerating the development in South East Asia, with the opening of an affiliate in Cambodia, the creation of a Representative Office and a Joint Venture in Myanmar,
14
FOCUS MAGAZINE
|
I ssue 6 8
while also consolidating Singapore of course! We have a very strong portfolio in Singapore. Our biggest brand here is Martell, very important and dynamic, and we have just launched VSOP Red Barrel to maintain our leadership and reach younger generations. We are also bringing new dynamism to our whisky brand, Chivas, and to our cocktail portfolio which comprises of Monkey 47, Altos, Jameson and Havana Club. All this without forgetting Ricard and of course Champagne PerrierJouet for which you can find some good offers in our new e-commerce platform Drinks & Co https:// drinksandco.sg, where not only is our whole portfolio available, but also some exclusive experiences! For all these areas, the idea is to adopt Pernod Ricard successful business model, sell our brands with our own team, all being Ambassadors of our brands and “Créateurs de Convivialité”.
pat r o n m e m b e r s p ot l ig h t Pernod Ricard has many great brands. How do you keep things fresh while keeping on with tradition and heritage? The launch of Martell Red barrel last month and the one of Martell NCF two years ago are the best examples of how an old Maison like Martell combines tradition and heritage but is also constantly innovating to address new opportunities.
Any exciting upcoming projects or campaigns at Pernod Ricard that you can share with us about? We have just recently launched our e-commerce platform Drinks & Co, which enables our consumers to enjoy not only all our products but also great experiences!
As this issue focuses on the consumer journey, could you share with us your thoughts on how the consumer journey in Singapore is evolving? The consumer journey is constantly evolving. At Pernod Ricard, we follow the consumption occasion that we call MOCs: Moments of Conviviality (After work, lunch, dinner, high energy party…), the consumer choice will evolve and we have to adapt to it! Thanks to our large portfolio, we are able to have an offer crafted for every single moment!
Do you see in any way consumers’ palates evolving? The drinking pattern is also evolving. Historically in Singapore, the consumption is of dark spirits with brands like Martell and Chivas. Today, we see the re-emergence of Singapore as an international cocktail scene, with white spirits and rum (12 bars from Singapore ranked in Asia’s Top 50 Bars). Thus, it is a great opportunity for our brands like Monkey 47, Altos Tequila and Havana Club.
You want to organise a Chivas party at home, we do it for you! Choose the place, we bring all the rest! Special offer on Drinks & Co for the ones reading this article with this code: Connect on https:// drinksandco.sg and use the promo code FCCS10 to have a 10% discount on the whole portfolio! ( This offer ends 31 March 2019.)
As a strong supporter of the French Chamber, how would you describe its role for French companies in Singapore? The French Chamber of Commerce is a great support for French companies in Singapore, very active and organising great events to facilitate networking, communication between members! We are very glad to be part of it and have the opportunity to support moments of conviviality in a glass with our brands. We are also part of the HR committee with Paul Tran, Human Resources Director SEA, and particularly happy to be active to always support and convey our values. F
th e wat e r cool e r ch at Who inspires you? – Paul Ricard of course, this great entrepreneur who gave birth to our beloved Ricard and created the Group Pernod Ricard in 1975. All the young entrepreneurs bringing such diverse ideas and initiatives we would like to work with them all! And of course, my team, always coming up with new and crazy ideas! I love that!
Your motto in life? – The one I hate: “We have always done like this”, the costliest for every company! The one I love “Doing things differently leads to something exceptional!” Let’s challenge the status quo, always thrilled to try and take risk to make the difference targeting the big! I am a gambler with moderation!
A memorable/funny story/ experience at Pernod Ricard? – My first Chinese New Year Dinner in Singapore! 200 guests and a toast of Martell with each of them! A great memory for a great celebration, for which it was good to have eaten before!
Your go-to drink? – Ricard, well served!
FOCUS MAGAZINE
|
I ssue 6 8
15
16
cover story: customer journey
FOCUS MAGAZINE
|
I ssue 6 8
Cov e r s to r y : C u s to m e r J o u r n e y
Put on the Map: Singapore
In August 2017, the Singapore Tourism Board, together with the Economic Development Board, unveiled the Passion Made Possible brand, to market Singapore internationally for tourism and business purposes. Passion Made Possible is a brand that captures the spirit of Singapore, a place shaped by its people and their passions, and driven by their passion to constantly pursue new possibilities and reinvention. With Passion Made Possible, STB took an inside-out approach by celebrating Singapore’s people, talent and stories, which form a key aspect of our brand campaign. These were brought to life through consumer launches, trade events, industry partnerships, and global marketing plans in 20 markets worldwide. Passion Made Possible speaks of Singapore’s authenticity and depth of character, and seeks to form 1
Potential visitors are also grouped into Passion Tribes based on their lifestyles and interests. There are seven tribes: Foodie, Collector, Explorer, Progressor, Socialiser, Culture Shaper and Action Seeker. The storytelling approach and the creation of the Passion Tribes build affinity and affiliation with visitors, and help create mindshare and position Singapore positively in their minds. They will then be more inclined to choose Singapore as a destination to visit or opt to spend a longer time on the island discovering different aspects of Singapore. The Singapore story goes beyond tourism and business, shared by everyone with a stake in its success – from everyday locals and entrepreneurs to industry stakeholders and businesses and various government agencies. We are heartened by the response to efforts by our industry partners to bring the Passion Made Possible brand to life through their tourism products:
There are also interest-based hotel experiences: • Aug 2018 – Launch of Made in Singapore Rooms by Village Hotels by Far East Hospitality, targeted at the Culture Shaper Passion Tribe • Oct 2018 – Launch of Heritage Tour at Amara Sanctuary Resort Sentosa, targeted at the Explorer Passion Tribe • Oct 2018 – Launch of Fashion Showcase at Ascott Orchard Singapore, targeted at the Collector Passion Tribe • Dec 2018 – Launch of Creative Communities workshops at M Social Singapore, targeted at various tribes including Collector and Foodie We further encourage the French travel industry to partner us in telling a great Singapore story and will continue to work closely with them to develop such tourism offerings/products.
The 20 markets ar e: A ust ralia, China, France, Ge r many, India, Indonesia, Japan, Hong Kong SAR , Malaysia, Middle East, Myanmar, Philippines, R ussia, Singapor e, South Kor ea, Taiwan, Thailand, United Kingdom, United States and V ietnam.
17 I ssue 6 8
deeper connections with visitors through the sharing of stories and experiences of Singapore.
|
From business visitors to leisure tourists, Singapore has certainly been put on the map as a place to visit. Do tell us, what is the Singapore brand and how do you try to make it relatable to visitors?
FOCUS MAGAZINE
Ms Yen Nee Tan, Regional Director Europe, Singapore Tourism Board speaks to us about going inside-out to tell the story of Singapore, and the new projects in retail, F&B and entertainment making the city-state ever more exciting.
STB has worked with tour operators to curate 27 tours based on Passion Tribes to enable visitors to discover Singapore based on their lifestyles and interests. The tours include: • Bike and Bites Food Tour by Let ’s Go Tour Singapore (Explorer and Foodie) • Down to the Bare Walls by A+B Edu Tours and Travel (Culture Shaper) • Street Art and Food Tour by Wok ‘n’ Stroll (Culture Shaper and Foodie)
From online shopping to food apps, e-commerce goes strong in Singapore. What can be done to draw consumers back out onto the streets? With consumers becoming increasingly well-travelled and exposed to various retail and dining experiences, tourism and retail stakeholders have to set their sights on creating compelling content propositions.
FOCUS MAGAZINE
|
I ssue 6 8
18
As the champion agency for tourism, STB constantly seeks out new and exciting concepts that can set Singapore apart as a top leisure destination. As part of our ongoing efforts to rejuvenate Singapore’s premier shopping district, Orchard Road, as an integrated lifestyle and leisure precinct that offers authentic and immersive experiences for Singaporeans and tourists, we have launched Design Orchard, a consolidated showcase of some 60 designed-in-Singapore brands in the heart of Orchard Road. Over the years, we have supported various events in the retail and dining scenes, including crowd favourites such as Christmas on a Great Street, Great Singapore Sale, Singapore Food Festival and World Gourmet Summit. We have also facilitated new experiences such as pop-ups along Orchard Road like the STAR WARS: Experience the Force Singapore festival.
-
We welcome local and international stakeholders with creative ideas and concepts to tap on our Leisure Events Fund, to execute their proposals and bring their business
to Singapore.
Design Orchard has just opened this January. What can consumers expect from the latest addition to the retail landscape? Design Orchard is a joint project by Enterprise Singapore, JTC and STB to nurture and profile local design talent and brands in Singapore. Located at the junction of Cairnhill Road and Orchard Road, Design Orchard has opened on 25 Jan 2019. Design Orchard is expected to provide locals and tourists greater access to the local design community and enliven Orchard Road.
Design Orchard comprises two main parts: 2. Incubation spaces operated by the Textile and Fashion Federation Singapore (TAFF) on the second floor and the rooftop, as well as an events space on the rooftop.
1. A retail showcase on the first level to groom and profile home-grown design talent. Over 60 local brands across categories such as fashion, lifestyle products and souvenirs will retail at the showcase. As the lead agency for the retail showcase, STB has appointed home-grown lifestyle retailer Naiise to be the operator of the showcase.
• TAFF will run a structured incubation programme targeted at fashion and lifestyle designers with a focus on skills and capability building, such as business management and technology adoption. The programme will support and nurture local designers and help them grow their brands. • The rooftop, with its amphitheatre, serves as a unique space for events set against the backdrop of Orchard Road. Interested parties may write in to hello@designorchard.sg to apply for the use of the rooftop event space.
Cov e r s to r y : C u s to m e r J o u r n e y
Apart from housing international brand names, we also offer multi-dimensional retail concepts. Local fashion label, In Good Company, and multi-label footwear retailer, Peddar on Scotts, have included cafes within their retail spaces. Jewel Changi Airport, Singapore’s newest mall which opens in early 2019, transforms the shopping experience with attractions such as a 40m high indoor waterfall and the five-storey Forest Valley, Singapore’s largest indoor garden.
As a maturing tourism city, Singapore has to rely more on lifestyle and events programming, even as we continue to invest in new infrastructure. Hence, STB has been focusing on enhancing our vibrant events calendar, in which we supported over 900 quality events in the past five years. This will allow us to maintain an always-on buzz in terms of business and leisure events and attract an expanding pool of increasingly discerning visitors. From one-of-a-kind retail experiences to award-winning restaurants such as Odette (helmed by Chef Julien Royer) and bars such as Manhattan, Native and Operation Dagger, as well as thriving nightlight and entertainment and vibrant sporting events, Singapore has it all. We are home to many first-in-Southeast Asia (SEA) flagship stores of top international brands such as Louis Vuitton Singapore Island Maison, Apple, Dover Street Market and Victoria’s Secret (first full assortment store in SEA). The presence of these top brands in Singapore is testament to our appeal as a retail destination.
Apart from retail and dining, STB has been curating a glowing line-up of entertainment events, with homegrown and international music acts performing at the Ultra Music Festival, ZoukOut, and the F1 Singapore Grand Prix concert every year. Our three-year collaboration with Disney has also created opportunities to leverage on the Star Wars franchise and Marvel, Disney Animation/Disney Pixar themes to create experiential activities in Singapore. Some recent events include the Marvel Studios: Ten Years of Heroes Exhibition at the ArtScience Museum and the Disney Magical Moments - Christmas on a Great Street along Orchard Road. F
|
I ssue 6 8
19
FOCUS MAGAZINE
What are the latest trends in retail, F&B and entertainment in Singapore, and how do they make Singapore stand out from the competition?
Singapore is known for its lively gastronomy scene, which comprises affordable street hawker fare to highend fine dining. In 2018, STB and William Reed Business Media inked a multifaceted three-year partnership to anchor a series of five 50 Best events in Singapore. As part of this pioneering partnership, Singapore will host the annual World’s 50 Best Restaurants awards in 2019 – the first time that the global restaurant rankings’ award ceremony is being held in an Asian city. Singapore will also continue to welcome Asia’s 50 Best Bars in 2019 and 2020 and the World’s 50 Best Bars awards will arrive in 2021. As an attractive cocktail destination, Singapore is home to 12 bars on the Asia’s 50 Best Bars Awards 2018 and six bars on the internationally acclaimed list of World’s 50 Best Bars Awards 2018.
Cov e r s to r y : C u s to m e r J o u r n e y
Fashion-forward little treasures The rise of e-commerce has been disrupting most retail businesses in Singapore. Stéphanie Lemaire, Founder, Château de Sable shares with us on building brand loyalty and touch points to reach out to more customers online and offline.
FOCUS MAGAZINE
|
I ssue 6 8
20
Today everything is about e-commerce. You have a website but you’re also opening new stores, so you must have a bit of a general outlook. Do you feel like everything is going digital? Is there still a need for stores in order to grow? I think that all the brands need to have some stores. Because that’s the only way for customers to feel the products and the collections. When you buy gifts or clothes for your baby, you like to touch. So, if you have several shops, it will be easier for your customers to buy. There’s something I learnt in Singapore, and it took me a long time; there are so many malls here, but everybody is only going to one or two malls following his/her habits. For example, myself, when I want to shop, I’m only going to Cluny Court (because it’s close to my house), Tanglin Mall and Paragon. Sometimes I go to Takashimaya because there is Kinokuniya, and I love it. That’s about it. So, with more shops you can touch more customers. Basically, with our stores, we can get new customers and be closer to them as well. And in fact, our shops are doing much better than our e-commerce. We are spending a lot of money on e-commerce but our shops have better results. Now however, developing e-commerce is important of course, so we are starting to work on multi-brands e-commerce. We are trying to go on Lazada by launching our brand on this marketplace very soon. We need to be more present on this side of e-commerce, because clients like to shop, and when they do, they like to have the choice between several brands.
So, besides the designs, and brand awareness of course, how do you get customer loyalty, how do you ensure your customers to come back? We have a new arrival every two weeks, so a new collection every two weeks, which keeps our customers’ interest. Then we send newsletters to show them the new collection. The more shops we have, the bigger our newsletter’s name list gets. And what is important for us as well is to follow the celebrations. Different countries have different celebrations obviously so we launch special collections for special moments of the year. We have a Christmas, a Chinese New Year or a Hari Raya collection for example. What I really love about Singapore is the multiculturality it has, it’s amazing. We learn a lot from other cultures to adapt our collections and satisfy our customers.
Do you launch those collections everywhere? No. The Chinese New Year collection won’t be launched in France for instance. The Hari Raya collection could still be sold in France, it depends on the style we’re going for, because it is something very festive. F
Brick-and-Mortar Gets an Upgrade
Today, a customer can get everything via the Internet. Is this the big shift in retail? What does this mean for brick-and-mortar? The emergence of digital technology shaped different customer profiles. I believe that our relationship with shopping has doubled. On the one hand, there’s shopping for convenience, the needs of which digital technology has met perfectly. We’re shopping online, not for fun, but because it’s more convenient. On the other hand, there is the enjoyment shopping, linked to the concepts of emotion and experience. Our expectations made the points of sales shift to physical spaces where brands express their codes and values; they are becoming extensions of the brands’ cognitive capital. There are numerous reasons that make us enter a store, yet they are all connected to a common desire: living an experience with a brand, immersing into a universe. Several parameters are at stake in this encounter: the design, the customised relationship, the product expertise, the sense awakening, the shared pleasure with sales advisors, up to the lasting impression the customer will keep, and even share on social media.
Sport brands were among the first to incorporate new technologies into stores. See for example the new Tmall x Intersport megastore in Shanghai. Customers are welcomed by an array of state-ofthe-art technologies and augmented-reality-powered interactive games. Shoppers can get style advice from an AI Shopping Assistant – an interactive mirror that recommends related accessories that complement the article they are trying on. By using motion-sensor technology, a giant screen wall can identify the gender and approximate age of the passers-by and recommend the best type of shoes for each person. In a different field, Nespresso has developed selfservice spaces based on RFID to lessen the waiting time in stores. After picking their products from automatically stocked shelves, the customers can pay their order with total independence. Thanks to a RFID chip included in every package, the cash register detects automatically the products in the shopping basket and proceeds to a double-checking by weighting the items: all items are recognised in less than 5 seconds and paid by credit card. Launched in some stores, this service was quickly adopted by the users: 42% to 48% customers make use of it. F
I ssue 6 8 |
Tell us about the new concepts in brick-andmortar that you have seen on your retail tours? What new technologies are being deployed?
21
FOCUS MAGAZINE
Chloé Cortinovis, Managing Director, Bienvenue shares with us how she sees the brickand-mortar experience evolving, as retail meets experience meets digital.
The physical store is an ideal playground to create customer loyalty, but also to increase sales thanks to cross and up selling and making the most of data. Many have claimed that physical stores will disappear; I’m convinced of the reverse! I can tell by the fact that pure play e-retailers are starting to open their own physical stores.
Luxury & the New Era of
Personalisation Jean-Baptiste Calais, South-East Asia & Oceania Director of Customer Experience Group, the alliance of five agencies, shares about moving towards a personalised relationship in customer experience in luxury retail.
FOCUS MAGAZINE
|
I ssue 6 8
22
You help brands move towards a personalised customer experience model. What does this mean? Based on our research, we found that 78% of customers are willing to pay more for a better experience. Buyers are now well-informed, connected, aware and, most importantly, free to choose. There is no doubt that customer experience has become the arena where brands win or lose the battle for customers. The continuous evolution of the luxury landscape reflects the everchanging requirements of affluent customers worldwide. The Customer Experience Group (including Albatross CX alongside four other agencies) was established to provide 360-degree CX solutions to premium and luxury brands, helping them transition from a transactional model to a personalised relationship and an emotionally engaging model through research, consultancy, experience feedback, training, and coaching. With the Customer Experience Group by their side, premium and luxury brands can foster meaningful relationships with their customers and reap the benefits of profitable growth in the process.
Is it possible to measure customer emotion? What is the best approach? We offer an end-to-end solution to improve the customer experience (CX), gain customers’ insights, capture and analyse customer and team data, define metrics, build advocacy, devise a robust recruitment methodology, and empower frontline retail teams to master the art of luxury selling. Here’s two of our latest solutions that help brands through their CX transformation: • CX App – This is a premium digital tool that changes the way brands activate data collected from the customers. The CX App is customised to suit each brand, instantly identify areas that need special focus, and train front line teams with onsite coaching to create outstanding customer experience. • Voice of Customer – With this solution, brands can identify and measure critical touch points of the customer journey and use data analytics to identify customer frustrations, aspirations and bottlenecks, recommend opportunities to solve and improve the journey and make customers happy.
What is the biggest challenge you see brands facing today? Having retail KPIs and incentive schemes that force sales team to focus on immediate transactions is one of the challenges in today’s luxury retail sector. This culture promotes behaviors that solely focus on ‘sales’ rather than attending to the customers’ needs. Teams tend to put their own interest first before considering the best interest of the customer.
“ To address this
challenge, luxury brands need to revisit the traditional retail KPIs and introduce a model that is based on experience and relationships.
”
These are the real key factors that triggers a transaction, and not the other way around. F
Cov e r s to r y : C u s to m e r J o u r n e y
Customer relationship: is it still possible to innovate?
T
he main challenge faced by brands to optimise their customer experience is to resort to the use of new technologies that will help them build stronger connections with their customers.
Digital technologies offer a great opportunity to start an ongoing dialogue with customers. The use of new technologies, at each stage of the customer journey, acts as a real lever to increase client attendance and overall commitment. Generating more traffic is not a goal per se. If one does not look at qualification, conversion rates both in the physical and digital worlds are bound to suffer. For instance, retail players now must help customers prepare their visit, save time and optimise their journey on-site. The bottom-line of such efforts is to increase average baskets.
Here comes the technology challenge though that may well break all the efforts attempted at each stage of the customer journey. The customer centricity such a journey means you are trying to bridge the gap between the outside world and the inner environment of the brand. A gap that also exists between systems. Information flows need to go from outside-in and inside-out the brand organisation. You will probably use external resources as well to make your service work (e.g. personalisation algorithms, automation). More and more retailers work with start-ups to offer smoother itineraries in physical venues realise at some point that to replicate the fluidity of an online journey, they need an integrated omnichannel experience not just services or technologies sitting side by side. Building seamless physical and digital experiences is the most powerful lever to create emotions and customer engagement anywhere anytime. It requires though a tremendous level of effort both technical and organisational to set up and maintain the right bridges between physical and digital resources. Technologies exist to experiment and do it fast, brands need to build the right blueprint and take action! F
| FOCUS MAGAZINE
Thomas Vermersch, Director APAC, Moskitos, walks us through the new customer experience journey – the trends, the challenges, and what retail brands can look at to innovate in customer relationship.
Customers already have a wide range of options to act on their own: social media, websites, community recommendations. Ubiquity is so hard to achieve that it may not be the be-all and end-all of a sound customer relationship strategy. Instead, focusing on creating a focal point of interaction that navigates all the available information, public or private, and brings it in an easyto-access and user-friendly format can be more realistic and efficient. Using a Chatbot for instance to answer all customer questions in a timely fashion brings real added value.
I ssue 6 8
23
Cov e r s to r y : C u s to m e r J o u r n e y
Tipsy Tech: Chatbots & wine
Epicurio how did it all started?
FOCUS MAGAZINE
|
I ssue 6 8
24
ClĂŠment Hochart, CEO and Co-Founder of Epicurio, shares with us how the start-up has evolved and how it is incorporating tech in its business.
Epicurio was started four years ago from a passion for tech, a passion for wine and the motivation to drive an old and traditional industry to digital operations and retail. The first year we did the mistake to launch just a social media part and we implemented the marketplace features only end of 2015. The need for quality wines and a good distribution changed our focus to the customer service rather than the social step. Regarding the offer and the range of wines, the tech part of Epicurio had enabled us to grow so much to supply more than 3,300 wines at one points that we had lost the focus. We are now slightly pivoting the marketplace to relaunch it with a more specific offer and new partners.
You have a big tech focus and you have created a personal sommelier chatbot to help clients choose a wine corresponding to their taste and the meal. How did you arrive at this decision to adopt chatbots? Yes as a way to simplify the experience with our marketplace, we have seen an interest for better and faster advice online through chat. We have created a smart chatbot technology to help consumers to pair their food with wines as well as to find easily the best wine for them. This chatbot technology has shown great results and we have decided to also offer it as a Software as a Service for hotels and restaurants to guide their customers at their premises.
10:30 AM
Hi! I’m Steven, your personal Sommel ier for today. Do you need help selecting the perfect Win e for your dini ng choices?
What kind of usage have you seen and how do you see this improving customer experience? We have seen many different requests on our chats online and most of them can be answered much more quickly by the bot, which is better connected to our entire database than us as an operator who will search manually to assist the customer. The improvement for the customer experience is clear, he will receive an accurate advice in less than a second instead of few minutes.
Do you see a challenge striking a balance between the social human aspect of sharing and the chatbot? The chatbot should not be the whole service and it has to have a human aspect, but our vision is to limit the number of human interactions to the moment we can bring a premium experience only, letting the bot do the quick and easy advice. F
The Consumer in the Age of Data
Seb Lepez, Founder & CEO of Jolt Digital shares how to put the consumer back in the centre with data.
S
ince the era of TV advertising for the soap opera in the US in the 1950s, the consumer has been abused. All brands pushed commercials to consumers hoping they will gobble them and buy their products, regardless if they needed it or not. We thought we would be smarter with internet and limit the ads exposure with frequency capping, but it was still working on the same TV principle of pushing ads to certain target audiences with ok,
Regardless if we have served an ad to the right target, if the person is not interested in the product, the ad becomes a nuisance for the consumer and a waste of dollars for the brand. Now, we can use data to understand people’s interest in specific products and go beyond the old fashion way of targeting by age, gender, sports, hobbies, etc. We can even be smarter and create models that will predict who will be interested in specific product types and create segments that will match the model. As a result, consumer will receive only ads that match their interests at a present time and brands will increase their ROI. Another example where data has revolutionised marketing is with mobile. A mobile phone is a mirror of people’s personality and interest.
Let me give you an example. A person has been looking at buying a new family car and therefore has been researching on cars websites (e.g. manufacturers, forums) different options and this person also has been using apps that shows he/she has a family (e.g. parenting apps, kids gaming apps). These criteria show that this person is considering buying a new family car of a specific brand. Then an ad for a family car from the right car manufacturers can be served to this person. The ad becomes then highly relevant and adds value to the person’s life rather than being a push nuisance. F
“ Data is changing the game of
marketing, are you leveraging it? ”
I ssue 6 8 |
What about if you could target people who have specific apps, have been using them and have been browsing specific websites? This is a perfect example of how ads can go beyond basic demographic targeting, to target people based on their centre of interest at a specific time.
FOCUS MAGAZINE
a bit more precision on the targeting, but still pushing ads.
25
FOCUS MAGAZINE
|
I ssue 6 8
26
Welcome to Changi Mr Dennis Yim, Director, Corporate & Marketing Communications, Changi Airport Group shares how Changi approaches the airport experience and how it is a destination in its own right.
Rated the world’s best airport, do tell us, what makes the Changi Airport experience different? What is your vision and approach to the airport experience? We are very honoured that Changi Airport continues to be recognised as one of the best airports in the world. Here, passengers are at the heart of everything we do – we strive to provide a personalised, stress-free and positively surprising experience for all who pass through our doors. To deliver the Changi Experience, we focus on efficient operations, offering innovative retail and dining options, excellent customer service with a warm Asian hospitality, and by anticipating the needs of passengers even before they tell us what they need. As an international airport serving over 62-million passengers each year, Changi Airport has many facilities and services to delight our passengers, such as gardens, movie theatres, entertainment zone and even a swimming pool. Transit passengers on a long layover can also sign up for Free Singapore Tour for a free city tour.
Cov e r s to r y : C u s to m e r J o u r n e y
Catering to the needs of travellers, the early checkin facilities at Jewel will offer a convenient option for passengers who wish to arrive earlier at the airport, check-in for their flights, before exploring the complex. There will also facilities for fly-cruise and fly-coach passengers with comfortable rest areas, travel services, baggage transfers and shuttle services to the cruise/ ferry terminals. These services will provide greater convenience and a seamless connection for coach, cruise, and ferry transfers.
For example, in the new Terminal 4, we have introduced state-of-the-art, CT X-ray machines and automated tray return system. Security officers can now focus efforts on the passengers and detecting suspicious behaviours. F
“We are using technology to simplify tasks for our employees so that they can focus on their core responsibilities and able to serve our passengers better.”
27 I ssue 6 8
Designed by world-renowned architect Moshe Safdie, Jewel has a distinct dome-shaped glass and steel facade, with a park and a marketplace situated side- by-side welcoming all to gather. Jewel’s unique design features the majestic Rain Vortex in the middle of the complex with the Forest Valley wrapped around it, surrounded by retail and F&B.
Self-service doesn’t mean no service. With self-service technologies, we free up manpower that was previously doing mundane jobs. This allows us to deploy our staff to roles that can better serve passengers.
|
Jewel is a mixed-use complex with a wide range of lifestyle offerings, including play attractions of worldclass standards, lush landscaping, over 280 shopping and dining outlets, a hotel and aviation facilities. Jewel will augment Changi Airport ’s status as a leading international air hub, drawing international travellers to Changi Airport and Singapore.
Changi Airport is blazing a trail, adopting new technologies, embracing automation. Do you see a challenge in striking a balance between automating and keeping a human touch?
FOCUS MAGAZINE
Could you tell us about Jewel Changi Airport? What will be some new innovations and new service features?
Cov e r s to r y : C u s to m e r J o u r n e y
takes to the Skies
FOCUS MAGAZINE
|
I ssue 6 8
28
Nicolas Ricard, Country Manager, Air France-KLM Singapore talks tech, new digital initiatives, and developing the customer experience. What are the challenges today in improving the consumer experience? Air France wants to be a world leader in brand value and market trends and be the most customer intimate, innovative and efficient European network carrier. To achieve this we need to be innovative, creative and roll out new technologies to enhance the customer experience which extends far beyond the journey itself. Improving the customer experience to create a memorable journey for everyone is key. Thanks to digital, we know what customers like and don’t like, and what they consider important. We need to engage customers with relevant and personalised experiences. The challenge is choosing the right technology at the right time.
The Air France Digital Factory was launched in November 2018. This is where new digital solutions are developed for Air France to make travelling simpler, more innovative and more exclusive to make customers feel welcome at all times.
Air France today still is the flagship of France, we combine innovation and style. Our customers have different reasons for travelling, leisure travellers going on holiday, when taking a flight is an exceptional occasion. Customers travelling for business or traveling in our La Première and Business cabins expect an exclusive experience with luxurious cabins, comfortable seats and beds and excellent French gastronomy (below).
And conversational chatbots, like ‘Louis’ can reply in real time about customer baggage issues and in case of flight disruptions we are now able to help our customers at the airport through virtual assistants. Another chatbot ‘Lucie’ is able to chat with customers 24/7 on Facebook Messenger. Lucie can help put together their ideal trip based on the customer preferences. Technology obviously enables us to personalise each journey. But the customer experience extends beyond digital. Our customers also need real experiences. For example, we need to keep investing in quality airport business class lounges to keep providing unique experiences where customers can relax or work. Last year we unveiled our brand new, ‘French art de vivre’ lounge at Paris-CDG airport. The new lounge features many different spaces, including a breath taking centre piece bar called ‘Le Balcon’ (above) where bespoke cocktails are served created by head bartender of the Hotel Lancaster in Paris. There is a unique ‘Gourmet table’ dining area with an open kitchen where a chef prepares dishes and a wellness area with a Clarins Spa, relaxation areas and even a detox bar serving teas and detox drinks.
But everyone expects a seamless, easy and comfortable journey, which we want to make memorable at each customer touchpoint so we can create long-term relationships and loyalty. F
29 I ssue 6 8
Air France has the ambition to offer travellers a high-end, top quality travel experience for a truly exceptional moment in the air. From the start to the end of the journey we want to be a company that is easy to do business and we want to be where our customers are. We build presence on existing social media platforms to communicate with customers and provide automated services such as flight updates, check-in notification, boarding passes.
|
Do tell us, what defines the Air France customer experience?
FOCUS MAGAZINE
What role does technology play in improving consumer experience for Air France?
At the epicentre of
Heritage & Elegance Christian Westbeld, General Manager of Raffles Hotel Singapore, shares more on the restoration process of the architecturally striking 130-year old structure, and the hotel’s approach to guest experience.
Raffles Hotel has such historical significance and unique heritage. How do you update and refurbish an iconic hotel without losing its charm? One of the few remaining great 19th century hotels in the world, Raffles Singapore continues to be a legend in the global luxury hotel sphere, given its ability to evolve gracefully over time to suit and adapt to today’s travellers, while still maintaining its original, iconic charm and unique atmosphere. Until today, its architecture is perfectly preserved, giving the legendary hotel an intoxicating blend of luxury, history and classic colonial design. Much like the previous restoration in 1991, Raffles Singapore is evolving for 21st century travellers while preserving its core identity that travellers recognise as a distinctly Raffles experience, from our ever-present and welcoming Raffles Doormen, who are the most photographed colleagues of the hotel, to the refined, discreet and attentive service of our Raffles Butlers and the exceptional culinary and cultural experiences provided within.
30
FOCUS MAGAZINE
|
I ssue 6 8
The restoration process is a meticulous one, which involves breathing new life into the heritage parts of a 130-year-old structure, requiring intricate levels of finesse, sensitivity and care. Accordingly, the restoration team’s work has progressively become even more thorough, detailed, delicate and precise in the last few months. The presence of a dedicated team on the ground, which is working tirelessly towards curating an entire set of experiences for our guests when the hotel reopens from our Butler experience to the series of culinary firsts is in itself a big responsibility but simultaneously it is an extremely exhilarating and fulfilling endeavour as the team works passionately towards a successful reopening.
What is your philosophy and approach to guest experience? Within the team at Raffles Hotel Singapore, we are very excited to welcome our guests, inviting them to rediscover cherished moments with our returning favourites and explore innovative and exciting experiences with our new line-up of dining concepts. For these reasons and more, Raffles Hotel Singapore continues to thrive and stay relevant for travellers around the world and our community as we preserve age-old traditions while providing guests with opportunities to create new ones. The service experience at Raffles centres around the guest and thrives on offering them emotional luxury.
How do you see the consumer journey and guest expectations changing? Is it very different for the modern luxury traveller?
Since the hotel’s inception in 1887, Raffles Hotel Singapore has been an epicentre for world travellers, the local community, culture and entertainment, being the first hotel in the city to hire a French chef in 1899, introducing travellers and Singapore to authentic French flavours. Fast-forward to today and the Grand Dame is once again at the forefront of a culinary and bartending renaissance, beginning with the presentation of a 21st century Singapore Sling. Widely regarded as the city’s national cocktail, the legendary Singapore Sling, created here more than 100 years ago, has made its long awaited return to a restored Long Bar since September 2019. Crafted with elevated ingredients that includes bespoke gin, organic pineapples and grenadine made from 100% pomegranate juice, the refreshed Singapore Sling with its modern taste profile is fast becoming the talk of city, delighting new and old supporters alike.
Today’s luxury traveller is more discerning, more sophisticated and more demanding. They are seasoned travellers who enjoy being social and are cultured, knowledgeable and worldly. They seek personal enrichment through deep cultural connections to past and present, with a particular appreciation for authentic heritage, not reproductions of the past. They appreciate naturally elegant, personal relationships and service which is delivered with warmth and sincerity.
“At Raffles, we understand this evolution and recognise that luxury is thereby more than what one owns but about how they feel. ” As such, we present to our visitors a perfect blend of legendary service which is gracious and intuitive, iconic design, culturally rich experiences as well as destination dining and celebrations where our guests feel sumptuously pampered and perfectly understood. F
FOCUS MAGAZINE
|
I ssue 6 8
31
Moreover, as we are in the business of paying claims, we need to ensure that our customers can get back on their feet as soon as possible when the worst happens. For example, with our online claims portal, our customers enjoy a simple claims filing process and quicker reimbursement than before.
Seeing the world as customers do
FOCUS MAGAZINE
|
I ssue 6 8
32
Leo Costes, Managing Director, Retail & Chief Customer Officer, AXA Insurance shares with us the AXA approach to customer experience. How and when did you realise customer experience should be a priority for AXA? How has AXA approached customer experience? Any initiatives to share with us? Customer experience has always been a priority for AXA. Putting our customer first is one of our core values and we strive to be more than a payer of claims but a true partner to our customers. They are the starting point for all our work. We strive to give them more choice, more innovation and more power to decide how, when and where they access our products and services, while making sure we deliver on our promises when a claim arises. Our goal is to make it as simple as possible for our customers to connect and interact with us. That is why we consider our customers’ experiences across their entire journey with us – from buying to servicing and claiming (and of course renewals!).
When it comes to buying, we ensure that our omni-channel strategy makes it easy for customers to navigate, select and purchase the relevant solutions regardless of the channels they choose. We have also embarked on a simplification journey to ensure that the customer value proposition is clear and easy to understand. For servicing, in addition to being easily accessible by our customers, we are focused on continuously improving the customer experience by listening and acting on their needs and feedback. For example, our Customer Care team will reach out to customers who have had a negative experience with us within 24 hours of their interaction to understand where we can improve. This is fed into an internal dedicated committee to act upon and introduce improvements.
We are also evolving from being a “payer” of claims to being a “partner” to our customers, and our employees and distributors around the world are ready to work closely together with our customers to create services and solutions that empower them to live better, today and tomorrow. Thus, we actively look at avenues where we can innovate and inject more value to our customers such as through our products and services development. For instance, we are making our data accessible to our customers in a useful way with AXA Give Data Back – Motor, an interactive website that identifies accident hotspots in Singapore based on AXA claims data. An industry first, it aims to help motorists better understand the risks they can face on the roads they frequent across Singapore by sharing data such as frequency of occurrence of a motor accident and the average cost of a motor accident claim, and also tips on how to stay safe on the road. With Give Data Back, we hope to encourage safer road habits by helping people to understand the real risks on the road. For patients, we are boosting our health services to provide better support during their treatment such as through our exclusive partnership with Singaporean healthcare startup Jaga-Me, to connect AXA customers who want to recover in the comfort of their homes with qualified healthcare professionals. Under this partnership, about 30,000 policyholders of selected AXA health insurance solutions have access to ondemand home nursing care as part of their post-hospitalisation coverage via a personalised AXA mobile app, giving them the flexibility to choose and manage their care seamlessly.
What have you learned about measuring customer experience?
We’ve also identified that customer experience is not the sole responsibility of Customer Care or specific departments. It needs to be a company-wide responsibility as everyone has a role to play. We dedicate a committee consisting of stakeholders representing different parts of the organisation to serve this purpose – providing a regular platform to share the detailed results and collaborate as a team while agreeing on specific actions to take and identifying the appropriate leaders to take charge of the specific improvements. F
Juliana Gim, Managing Director, International SOS Singapore and Business Development, Government Services, Asia (excluding China) shares how the company is driving better consumer experience, the International SOS way. Global Risks and Challenges Organisations are expanding their global footprint in an increasingly connected world, and this means a continuous movement of products, services, and people. The global workforce is now more mobile than ever, and travellers and assignees face an increasing number of risks which can disrupt plans, e,g, such as headline making terrorism and natural disasters to more routine issues such as dealing with food, water and road safety.
• In the initial 12 hours during the Paris Attacks, we were taking a call every 2 minutes for 12 hours. • We are on the phone with our clients – talking to them during an active terrorist assault, reassuring them, advising them on what to do, alerting authorities as to where they are located in the hotel • Globally, we organise 1 medical evacuation every 30 minutes
-
We pioneer solutions and research that empower the productivity, resilience and sustainability of companies while protecting their mobile workforces. Over the years, we have expanded from assistance and evacuation services to also include support for medical and travel security needs, wellness, occupational health and remote site management.
I ssue 6 8
International SOS is at the frontline of providing medical and security advice and assistance, to prepare for and respond to any type of incidents, e.g:
33
|
We have realised that most of the time, they are happy to share what they felt went right or can be improved. That’s why we don’t just look at satisfaction scores or metrics, we combine both qualitative and quantitative feedback by diving deep into the open-ended feedback that customers share with us. That is where we usually identify areas we can improve on in order to enhance and better the customer experience.
A Consumer-Centric Duty of Care
FOCUS MAGAZINE
We are fortunate that our customers are eager to share their experiences with us, whether positive or negative. We collect immediate feedback from them whenever they engage with us – such as after purchasing and claiming. We have a transparent real-time customer feedback system, where we publish customer comments on our website after they have had an interaction with AXA.
Driving better consumer experience, the International SOS way At the core of our business, is a focus on listening, anticipating and responding to our client’s needs and the diverse situations they are in. Our goal is to prevent or mitigate risk to employees and the business. In the situation of an incident, clients can count on the support of our unrivalled global assistance network of over 81,000 medical, security and logistics providers.
FOCUS MAGAZINE
|
I ssue 6 8
34
One particular case that exemplifies our customer centricity, was a client who suffered a broken hip from a motorcycle accident while travelling in Bali. The local doctor told her she needed to get a hip replacement. She called us for a second opinion. Our doctors assessed that a hip replacement surgery would be very disruptive to an active lifestyle like this young lady’s. After consultation with our global assistance network, we therefore recommended to evacuate her to another medical facility in Singapore for a more sustainable, less disruptive medical treatment. She now continues to lead a very active lifestyle. We pride ourselves in the accessibility of our medical and security support, no matter where and when. Our technological accessibility includes our internationally certified TeleHealth services, as well as our Assistance App. The App provides clients with realtime, accessible information on medical and security risks and also a one-click access to our twenty six, 24/7 Assistance Centres where they can speak to doctors and security experts in their preferred language. The App also allows organisations to quickly locate and communicate with their staff, and assess the incident’s impact.
Our support makes the difference in saving limb, life and even business costs. Another interesting case was a client who was on his way from Singapore to Jakarta for a meeting, when the 2016 Jakarta attacks occurred. The client called our Assistance Centre, worried about whether the attacks will disrupt his important business meetings. Our security expert was able to allay the client’s fears by assessing that the latter’s meetings were not in the vicinity of the attacks. Our security expert also advised our client on the best route and transportation to take to his meetings. The client continued the rest of his trip with a peace of mind, assured and informed by regular situational updates through his Assistance App.
One heart and mind in caring for our clients We are passionate about Duty of Care, which emphasises on the importance of protecting the health, safety and well-being of their mobile workforce. By partnering with us, organisations can fulfil their Duty of Care responsibilities, while empowering business resilience, continuity and sustainability. Our ability to shape the market’s mindset on Duty of Care, is grounded on our organisation’s strong customer-centric culture, where our staff live and breathe by our core values of Care and Passion – caring for the interests of customers, making a difference in their lives, and working with passion, entrepreneurial spirit and teamwork to serve them. No matter where our clients are, we work around the clock to keep them stay safe and healthy. F
Cov e r s to r y : C u s to m e r J o u r n e y
The Learning Journey: Engage to Impact Experiential Learning activities need to integrate our human senses to be able to achieve the right immersive quality to engage and impact. Here are two types of multi-sensory experiential learning activities, when done right, can be immensely impactful.
1. PLAY Based Activities
The objective of arts-based learning is to create immersive learning experiences using artistic processes to help people gain new insights and perspectives about issues and challenges. Through Art, we can bring the conceptual and abstract to tangible life. Imagine being able to translate your corporate values and vision, your business challenges and issues to art and then be able to explain it in a deep and simple manner. Imagine being able to dramatise your business solutions so that you are able to immediately see it in action for immediate review. Imagine being able to create the right conditions for talent to emerge, collaborate and unite, to create beautiful ‘music’ together. When organised and facilitated well, this is what Art offers; a simulated space that replicates the very essence of the work environment, where it is safe to ask the deeper questions that lead to the emotional truth about a situation. Experiential learning is powerful on its own or can be integrated to complement the traditional and online (e – learning) training and learning approaches, by creating concrete experiences that enhance interactivity and participation, for greater transfer of learning. F
I ssue 6 8
2. VISUAL and PERFORMING Arts
|
Play brings joyfulness and when integrated in the work space, is vital for problem solving, creativity and building strong inter personal relationships. All of which help create the climate for inclusivity, engagement and innovation to thrive. Let’s qualify this though… It is serious Play, in that it has a neuro-science underpinning its structure and methodology and needs to be led by a qualified and experienced facilitator with proper design, frontload and debrief.
35
FOCUS MAGAZINE
Sudhir Nair, Lead Learning Associate, Creative Leadership in Asia, shares with us about immersive learning experiences and how it can be incorporated at the workplace and in business.
When we were young, we discovered more about ourselves, learnt from mistakes and developed new skills, through Play. Through Play we also made new friends and fostered strong relationships. Play had the ability to stir in us strong emotional connections. So we know of the power of Play, but have largely ignored this in our adulthood.
I ssue 6 8
36
Customer Experience in B2B2C: A look at the new Sodexo APAC House
FOCUS MAGAZINE
|
Congratulations on the opening of the new Sodexo APAC House! How has the customer experience been enhanced?
Johnpaul Dimech, Region Chair, Asia Pacific, Sodexo, talks about the new Sodexo APAC House in Singapore and how the company designs its services with the end-consumer in mind.
Thank you! The new Sodexo Asia Pacific House represents our collective efforts in improving the Quality of Life for everyone, starting with our own employees. The workspace was designed with input from employees who work here and contains different spaces to support all working styles. At the same time, the APAC House showcases some of the most advanced and thoughtful solutions we can bring to consumers. Let’s start with Smart Chef, our RFID food kiosk that allows staff and our guests easy access to fresh, healthy meals if they wish to dine in. All you need to do is to install a mobile app to peruse the menu, unlock the fridge and make your purchase online. There’s no need for cumbersome product scanning – simply grab and go. Another point of pride is ASPRETTO, our in-house sustainable café that serves fair trade coffee and tea products that
support the livelihoods of the smallholder businesses. Proceeds earned here go towards Stop Hunger, Sodexo’s non-profit to fight hunger and malnutrition. This is a food and beverage concept that increasingly resonates with socially conscious adults. Plus, we have put in place a comprehensive suite of smart innovations to improve comfort and energy savings. Our integrated platform links up over 200 sensors in the office to provide intelligent insights, drive automated actions and trigger alerts for intervention. Our sensors are programmed to monitor temperature, air quality and humidity among other comfort trackers. For instance, our air-conditioning is set to an optimum temperature of 24°C; any variations to this set point will trigger an auto-correction without human intervention. Additionally, we have put in place flexible work arrangements to allow our co-workers to improve work-life balance, and incorporated a myriad of spaces from quiet think pods to vibrant social spaces to support all working styles.
Cov e r s to r y : C u s to m e r J o u r n e y
Also, at Yale-NUS College, we customised our solution to offer sustainability – the students voted in preference of Sodexo because of our strength in this area. We source our ingredients responsibly, minimise the use of disposable single-use utensils and actively engage the students in reducing food waste with our WasteWatch programme, which digitally monitors pre- and post-consumer waste. Sites that implement WasteWatch can potentially reduce food waste by double-digit percentages in six months. All these are in line with the new generation’s social aspirations.
37 I ssue 6 8
But indeed, thinking from a customer’s point of view is step one. A good example to bring up is our executive food offering for INSEAD’s Asia Campus. On top of tertiary students, the consumers there are high-performing executives from all over the world, with busy schedules and discerning needs. We designed our food concepts to fit naturally into their campus journey and offered a variety like a café serving fresh brews and pastries – it turns into a bar after hours – and a central dining hall with multicultural cuisines and more.
Digital innovation will continue to drive new changes in food services. Currently, Sodexo has used technology very effectively in reducing food waste (even among consumers) and improving kitchen safety. Newer technologies like our Smart Chef RFID fridge will become more commonplace in the food and beverage scene. Artificial intelligence will also start playing a bigger role in all our transactions. In China, we recently invested in a tech company AEYE-GO that designed the world’s first imagerecognition checkout system – this is definitely something to watch in the near future. F
|
Whenever we receive a brief, we always start by asking, “how do we improve the customers’ Quality of Life?” This is not always a straightforward answer because we have many stakeholders in the equation. While we strive to enhance the wellbeing of the end-consumer, we have to ensure that the solutions proposed also enhance the wellbeing of our clients – we have to design winwin solutions.
How do you see the food services domain further transform in this near future?
FOCUS MAGAZINE
You are working with schools, universities, companies. Although B2B, why is it important for Sodexo to start from a customer point of view?
business s e r v i c e s ACGE (Assistance in Chemistry, Geochemistry and Environment) The aim of ACGE is to develop the 35 years of activities of the group in the ASEAN area. These activities are focused on the water, hydrocarbons and air chemistry and geochemistry. The main applications are: • Environmental soil assessment, soil remediation, pollution control, water pollution control and treatment, • Geochemical studies, including the specific sampling: Modelling of the water /rock or concrete interactions, origin of waters, compatibility of waters (scaling risks) during mixing, injection, degassing… • Corrosion studies and monitoring (steels and concrete) • Laboratories conception, delivery and management • Sulphate-reducing and thiosulphate-reducing Bacteria Labege test kits provider • Chemicals provider ACGE represents also water de-oiling equipment for the industry, or for a spill remediation and small size waste treatment devices and systems. F Contact: Bernard Gauthier Email: info@acge.sg Website: www.acge.sg
Talan For more than 15 years, Talan has been advising companies and administrations, supporting them and implementing their transformation projects in France and abroad. With offices on four continents, end-2017 the group reached a turnover of 185 million euros for nearly 2000 employees. The group puts innovation at the heart of its development and operates in areas related to the technological changes of large groups, such as Big Data, IoT, Blockchain and Artificial Intelligence. Talan’s team in Singapore is fully dedicated to the energy sector, and together with our other international offices is developing and strengthening its business and management consulting capacity towards key players within this area. F Contact: Benoit Ouziel, Sales & Business Development Director Email: benoit.ouziel@talan.com Website: www.talan.com
Singapour Business Tour: Presenting Singapore Business Opportunities to France Throughout the second half of 2018, the French Chamber Singapore was present in various parts of France as part of its Singapour Business Tour, with the objective of inviting French companies to discover, understand and evaluate potential markets of various sectors in Singapore and the region, and to consider exporting or setting up here. It was a great opportunity to share about the business landscape and opportunities in Singapore, offer to organise targeted business meetings with relevant companies, federations and governmental agencies in the Singapore ecosystem, and explain the different ways French companies can tangibly develop their businesses in
38
FOCUS MAGAZINE
|
I ssue 6 8
Singapore and the region, by sending a VIE ( Volontariat International en Entreprise), participating in tradeshows, or setting up a structure for instance. The Tour covered cities including Paris, Normandie, Rennes Marseille, and Nice, and the meetings were organised in collaboration with partners from the French Chamber CCI network, competitivity poles, sectorial clusters and governmental agencies. F
Company Pool Manager, French sales booster for Singapore
I
n France, companies are often struggling with export development. Noticeably for Asia, appropriate human resources and specific budget are needed to face distance, language, cultural differences.
In Singapore, the market is mature and competition is high. Overseas companies often need a local presence to succeed. Based on results from 30 companies and partners interviews, the French Chamber in Singapore is launching Company Pool Manager services. The aim is to dedicate Singaporean sectoral experts from our team to developing French company sales in Singapore on a part-time basis in short- to middleterm renewable contracts. Our company pool managers are in charge of companies Business Development for strategic as well as for operational purposes like promotion, prospection, follow-up… Adapted to the Singapore market, this solution lowers the risks taken by the companies and improves the performance of commercial actions undertaken: • it assures local presence on the ground by a sustained follow-up, particularly important in very competitive markets like Singapore • it needs a low financial and no legal commitments from the company • these people have a detailed knowledge of the market and the actors, speak local languages (English, Mandarin, Hokkien) and are able to anticipate and solve intercultural gaps Furthermore, our company pool managers are going to take care of up to 4 companies, reducing drastically the cost compared to a unique Commercial Director and his expenditures on-site or back and forth trips between France and Singapore. Some French Chambers in Asia have already developed these services and the companies using it have concrete results in a high price performance rate: • it confirms potential business in these distant countries with business interest • based on volumes identified during the commercial development, this service was a good tool to validate a set-up project in Asia Please have a look at our website and/or contact us for a personalised action. F FOCUS MAGAZINE
|
I ssue 6 8
39
Innovative Solutions
at the French Pavilion at Medical Fair Asia 2018
T
he French Chamber in Singapore organised the French Pavilion at Medical Fair Asia, Southeast Asia’s most definitive event for the medical and healthcare industry, gathering the region’s hospital, diagnostic, pharmaceutical, medical and rehabilitation sectors in one location and providing the perfect platform to discover the latest industry innovations, to network and do business.
Throughout the three days, exhibitors had the great opportunity to discover new contacts, establish connections, obtain information and identify business opportunities. The French Chamber’s French Pavilion saw an entirely new stand design this year.
Also organised on the sidelines was a Healthcare Networking Event, bringing together the French Chamber Business Club’s Healthcare committee, Smart Health platform, and institutional partner French Healthcare. The tradeshow delivered great value to the French exhibitors who benefited fully from their presence on the French Pavilions. F Participating Exhibitors
Medical Fair Asia Singapore will return in 2020. 40
FOCUS MAGAZINE
|
I ssue 6 8
French Pavilion in Singapore
Marina Bay Sands Expo Convention Centre 18 – 20 JUNE 2019 Cloud and Big Data Data Centre
IoT
Security and Cybersecurity
Blockchain
AI
Robotics
Smart City Solutions
The place to be in ASEAN, showcase your digital solution!
FREE on pati Partici
FIND OUT MORE
To book a stand, contact Sylvain Aparicio today at saparicio@fccsingapore.com or 6933 1358.
French Chamber Singapore
Welcome to Singapore
T
- 2018 -
he Welcome event, our annual “Rendez-vous“, brought together over 300 participants, composed of friends and French newcomers for an evening of exchange and networking at Sofitel Singapore Sentosa Resort & Spa this year.
FOCUS MAGAZINE
|
I ssue 6 8
42
It was a great opportunity for new expatriates in Singapore to meet wellsettled ones and get introduced to the French business community. Led by President of the French Chamber, Mr Pascal Lambert and Executive Director, Mrs Carine Lespayandel, it was above all a chance to underscore the essential role of the French Chamber in Singapore. Special thanks to Ambassador of France to Singapore H.E. Marc Abensour for the speech. Right after the presentation, our guests were invited to join us for a delightful buffet dinner made of wonderful French cheese, charcuterie, and raclette! The friendly environment enabled our over 300 guests to create some precious networking links. We would like to particularly thank our main sponsors for their support: AGS Four Winds, Air France, April, Avis, Bunker Gold & Silver, and Luther LLP. Many thanks also to Wine Connection for the wine. F Event kindly sponsored by:
Wine Partner:
Launch of “FrenchLab Singapore” to bring together French community of scientists and researchers in Singapore FrenchLab Singapore was officially launched in September 2018 at a reception at the French Residence with more than 80 guests from the scientific community and academic circle in Singapore.
A
joint initiative established by the French Embassy in Singapore, the French Chamber of Commerce in Singapore and the CNRS in the framework of the France-Singapore Year of Innovation, the objective of FrenchLab Singapore is to bring together the French scientific community and researchers based in Singapore and to intensify the interactions with the local and French ecosystems in order to generate new collaborations between our two countries. These French scientists and researchers, who number more than 250, work for local and French universities and research centres (for the majority) and for large industrial companies who have set up their R&D or Innovation centres in Singapore. Eventually, the FrenchLab Singapore will offer this community tangible tools such as a platform for discussions and exchanges to initiate collaborations, carry out recruitments or disseminate information through a newsletter to reach the French scientific community in Singapore.
Speaking at the launch, the Ambassador of France to Singapore, Mr. Marc Abensour noted, “ The FrenchLab Singapore initiative dovetails perfectly with the continuation of the already rich and fruitful scientif ic collaboration between our two countries. The France-Singapore Year of Innovation allowed our two ecosystems to be brought closer together and to develop new collaborations in the areas of the future such as artif icial intelligence or the circular economy. I am convinced that the FrenchLab Singapore will benef it from this dynamic and be the unifying relational platform to strengthen relations between France and Singapore.”
research in Singapore”, said Carine Lespayandel, Executive Director of the French Chamber of Commerce in Singapore. The CNRS supports the initiative and believes that the FrenchLab will make the Singaporean research and innovation ecosystem even more dynamic and attractive. For information, the CNRS is the partner of four UMIs (International Mixed Laboratories) in Singapore, in which is based its regional office for ASEAN; this places Singapore in third place worldwide for the number of UMIs. F
“ The launch of the FrenchLab is a reflection of the dynamism of the French business community in Singapore in the area of research and innovation. In line with the R&D Committee of the French Chamber, the French Lab reinforces the relations between the corporate and academic worlds with a will to encourage and facilitate the development of scientif ic
Keep up to date with FrenchLab Singapore at frenchlab.sg FOCUS MAGAZINE
|
I ssue 6 8
43
HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE ASIA STARTUP SUMMIT 2018 Collaboration between start-ups and large corporates is key for fostering innovation. In today’s rapidly changing business environment, it is important to actively connect outward to propel forward.
T
he French Chamber in Singapore, together with La French Tech and in collaboration with the French Chambers in Asia, presented its first Asia Startup Summit to facilitate synergies and partnerships in the region.
The summit consisted of: • Tech and Innovation Conference with experts to boost digital transformation • Startups Demo sessions to meet the most innovative startups in the region • Business Matching with B2B meetings that aim to reinforce business links between MNCs/ SMEs and startups This first edition featured 46 startups operating in 14 countries, 25 MNCs, 10 investors and more than 300 B2B meetings! The Summit started with a plenary session on the theme of “The Future of Innovation – New models of collaboration & Co-creation”.
Pascal Lambert, President of the French Chamber in Singapore, H.E. Marc Abensour, Ambassador of France to Singapore and Julien Condamines, Coordinator La French Tech Singapore started the day with introduction speeches.
44
FOCUS MAGAZINE
|
I ssue 6 8
It was then time for insightful keynotes and panel discussions featuring speakers from the startups and the MNCs community and animated by Eric SaintAndré, CEO & Innovation Architect, Amplification Lab, ASA Advisor y Ser vices. After a small break the startups came on the scene to present their project and convince during three minutes pitches. After a networking lunch full of interesting discussions it was time for the heart of the Summit: businessmatching sessions where startups had the opportunity to meet MNCs and investors during one-to-one meetings of 20 minutes, and a total of over 300 B2B meetings were organised. The day then concluded with a fruitful networking cocktail reception. F
Interact
Exchange
Connecting Corporates & Startups
Match
Pitch k i n d ly s p o n s o r e d b y
Accelerate Collaborate
FOCUS MAGAZINE
|
I ssue 6 8
45
46
FOCUS MAGAZINE
|
I ssue 6 8
FOCUS MAGAZINE
|
I ssue 6 8
47
French chamber events
Trends in Asia for 2019: Economic, Financial & Political A Breakfast Talk with leading economists on economic, financial and political forecasts for Asia for 2019, our yearly review for the year to come, presentations, a panel discussion and Q&A. F
FOCUS MAGAZINE
|
I ssue 6 8
48
Blockchain Beyond the Hype: Corporate and Banking Case Studies Great discussion on blockchain, smart contracts, dual layer protocol, trade finance, cash management, identity systems with blockchain experts, going beyond the buzzword to understand practical business applications of blockchain! Thank you also to AXA for hosting this Breakfast Talk! F
SPEAKERS • Mr Manu Bhaskaran, Adjunct Senior Research Fellow, Institute of Policy Studies • Mr Frédéric Kaplan, Minister Counsellor for Economic Affairs, ASEAN countries, Embassy of France in Singapore
Asia
Banking, Finance & Fintech
SPEAKERS • Tomasz Kurczyk, Digital Transformation Director, AXA Insurance • Val Ji-hsuan Yap, Founder & CEO, PAL Network and PolicyPal Singapore • Jordane Rollin, Head Digital Transformation, Trade Finance, Standard Chartered • Henry Roxas, Associate Director, Global Trade Partner Solution, R3 • Faeez M. Noor, Co-Founder & CFO, Luxtag • Jérémi Joslin, CTO & Director, Newlogic M O D E R AT O R • Antony Lewis, Director of Research, R3
Banking, Finance & Fintech
CFO Club Meeting The CFO Club brings together CFOs to share among peers experiences, challenges, issues, and best practices in the region. F
Banking, Finance & Fintech
Myanmar 2018 Union Tax Reform A committee meeting dedicated to the recent developments to Myanmar tax laws and regulations, including the 2018 Union Tax Law, the new Withholding Tax Notification, and changes to tax policies, and also practical insights on ways of doing business in Myanmar, especially for Singapore investors. F SPEAKERS • Diberjohn Balinas, Senior Tax Manager, DFDL
Asia
Legal & Tax
Time for Change: Disruption and Innovation in the Legal Sector A lively Wednesday evening at Collision 8 discussing with industry practitioners legaltech innovations: the different ways tech is changing the legal sector, its future, the challenges and the opportunities, followed by networking. F SPEAKERS • Noémie Alintissar, Manager, Future Law Innovation Programme (FLIP) • Rajesh Sreenivasan, Partner, Rajah & Tann • Maëva Slotine, Principal, Slotine, moderated by Rena Phua, Head of Marketing, LegalFAB • Thomas Chuang, Legal Product Expert, Luminance • Chris Powell, Co-Founder & Head of Business Development, LegalFAB
Tech & Innovation
Phenomenon of Peer-to-Peer Lending: Here for Good? A committee meeting to examine how P2P is not a trend anymore, but rather a new business model to stay for a long time and change the landscape. F SPEAKERS • Dimitri Kouchnirenko, Co-founder & Director, Incomlend
Asia
Banking, Finance & Fintech
FOCUS MAGAZINE
|
I ssue 6 8
Legal & Tax
49
Experience of Implementing LargeScale Infrastructure Projects for Sustainable Urban Development A sharing session on how civil engineering professionals look at future planning for long-term sustainability in goals. F SPEAKERS • Dr Tham, Executive Board Director, Meinhardt Inf rastructure
Maritime Site visit of Smart Factory Yamazaki Mazak Solar Rooftop PV Plant
FOCUS MAGAZINE
|
I ssue 6 8
50
A site visit with the Cleantech Solar team of PV experts for an overview of the key features of on-site solar including design, installation, monitoring and maintenance, and to see solar PV fitted on metal roofs, carport and reinforced concrete roofs. F SPEAKERS • Dr. André Nobre, Cleantech Solar Head of Operations & Maintenance • Raghav Malhotra, Head of Project Management • Arnaud Ayral, Regional Business Development Director
Energy & Infrastructure Sustainability & Responsibility
R&D and Innovation at Naval Group An overview of innovation and R&D international development at Naval Group and its journey in digitalisation of maintenance services. F SPEAKERS • Patrick Pennamen, Managing Director, Naval Group Far East
Maritime
Joint Networking Event - Aero/Maritime/Energy At the Auld Alliance, a networking event jointly organised by our Aeronautics, Space, Defence & Security, Maritime, and Energ y & Infrastructure committees, to network and exchange with like-minded professionals. F
Aeronautics, Space, Defence & Security Maritime Energy & Infrastructure
A Conversation with Vincent Chong, President & CEO ST Engineering An upclose and personal conversation with Mr Vincent Chong, President & CEO of ST Engineering, an integrated defence and engineering group with a global presence, specialising in the aerospace, electronics, land systems and marine sectors. F SPEAKERS • Mr Vincent Chong, President & CEO, ST Engineering M O D E R AT O R • Damien Dhellemmes, Vice-President of the French Chamber and Country President of Schneider Electric Singapore
SPEAKERS • Matt Stanelos, Waste Business Line Director, Veolia Singapore • William Green, Head of Corporate Affairs, Waters, Danone
Energy & Infrastructure Sourcing & Supply Chain Sustainability & Responsibility F&B & Hospitality
Decent work and social risks: keep calm and act on A meeting to get acquainted with situations that may give rise to social risks within our organisations and throughout our supply chain, especially in Asia Pacific, with regulations overview, concrete frameworks and case studies. F SPEAKERS • Magali Croese, Principal Consultant, b.tin
Energy & Infrastructure HR Sourcing & Supply Chain Sustainability & Responsibility
I ssue 6 8
During this Breakfast talk, a showcase of actions to implement an efficient circular economy process around plastic bottle and sharing of ideas on how to turn a problem into a solution. F
51
|
Environment – Solving the packaging equation
FOCUS MAGAZINE
Aeronautics, Space, Defence & Security Asia Maritime Smart Cities
Lean and Operational Excellence in Laboratories Many examples of real project outputs, the ‘Real Lean’ concepts of Levelling, flow and Standard work to obtain lean and operational excellence in the pharmaceutical sector. F
Networking event - Healthcare A networking evening at Ginett for healthcare professionals to network and exchange with like-minded professionals. F
SPEAKERS • Tom Reynolds, Vice President, EFESO Consulting
Energy & Infrastructure
Healthcare
Networking event - Healthcare
FOCUS MAGAZINE
|
I ssue 6 8
52
In the framework of Medical Fair Asia tradeshow, hosted at AXA Singapore, a networking evening in the presence of Mr Jean-Francois Gendron, President of French Healthcare and Emmanuel Montet, Co-President of the French Chamber’s Healthcare committee and Smart Health platform, enabling members and actors to meet and exchange with exhibitors on the French Pavilion. F SPEAKERS • Guillaume Drillet, Asian Regional Manager for Marine Services, SGS
Healthcare Learn & Experience the Collective Creativity Method A.C.T.I.N.G © The mechanics and tools, the benefits of A.C.T.I.N.G ©, to develop creative individual skills and organisational capabilities in a hands-on and engaging workshop. F SPEAKERS • Dr. Valérie Lejeune, TOPS Consult & TOPS Academy Partner, Researcher in Creativity and Innovation
Research & Development Tech & Innovation
Site Visit: L’Oréal Research and Innovation A visit to understand L’Oréal’s R&I activities in Singapore and more globally in APAC, with a focus on the development of the R&I site in Singapore, the motivations, issues and challenges, followed by open innovation activity and several demo stations. F
Healthcare
Research & Development
Understand the patient journey Playing a meaningful role in the decisions patients and healthcare providers make about care starts with understanding the patient journey. F SPEAKERS • Maryline Marquet, MBA, Chief Commercial Off icer Healint
Healthcare
53 I ssue 6 8
S P E A K E R S & PA N E L L I S T S • Mr Liau Eng Soon, Dr Ralph Graichen, Director, Food and Nutrition and Consumer Care (FNCC), A*STAR • Mr Ling Keok Tong, Director, Infocomms and Future of Manufacturing (FoM), A*STAR • Dr. Bing Xun Tan, Pharmaceutical Application Scientist, Roquette
Research & Development
|
At this Breakfast Talk, A*STAR shared with members what opportunities are there for companies – MNCs, SMEs and start-ups, to collaborate with the Science and Technology organisation, followed by a panel discussion and Q&A. F
FOCUS MAGAZINE
Breakfast Talk with A*STAR
SPEAKERS • Shawn Lim, Director of Singapore Advanced Research Lab, L’Oréal • Fabien Cabirol, R&I Asia Business Development Director, L’Oréal
The Affluent Asian Female Consumer in 2018 An insightful meeting on the affluent Asian femal consumer, in particular that of Singapore, their habits, media, touchpoints and preferences. F
New Age Advertising
FOCUS MAGAZINE
|
I ssue 6 8
54
Great morning discussion on New Age Advertising – the use of technology, data, programmatic systems to engage consumers with new, novel means to storytelling. F
SPEAKERS • Amrita Banta, Managing Director, Agility Research & Strategy
Digital Marketing & Communication Luxury & Premium Retail
SPEAKERS • Guillaume Sachet, Head of Social, Mediacorp • Isaline Duminil, Marketing Director, JCDecaux Singapore • Daniel Tan, General Manager, Dr.Banner • Jacqueline Tan, Business Director, Mediakeys M O D E R AT O R • Nancy Shyy, Sales Manager, Criteo
Digital Marketing & Communication Luxury & Premium Retail Tech & Innovation
How to build the best user experience to increase your revenue? A committee meeting with sharing of a few methods, such as persona workshops, user interviews and empathy map, to understand your customer better as well as his journey until conversion. F SPEAKERS • Céline de Robillard, Head of UX and Design and Cole Casper, Senior UX/UI designer, Viseo Asia
Digital Marketing & Communication Luxury & Premium Retail Tech & Innovation
Future of Chatbot, what do you think? A great thematic networking over the topic of chatbots, discussing how and whether chatbots bring value, sharing experiences, and also tips on getting started. F DISCUSSION LEADERS • Clément Hochart, CEO, Epicurio • Daniel Doppler, President, Quicktext • Jean-Christophe Bouglé, Managing Director, Powata
Is AI the right solution for my business? A human-friendly introduction to AI, providing commonly found use cases across industries to spot opportunities across organisations by using Automated Machine Learning. F
Retail Tour in Singapore: the perfect time out to share experiences, assessments, and ideas! For a special morning, a journey across six different stops to discover retail concepts and innovations, experience the customer path, and understand buying habits. F SPEAKERS • Chloé Cortinovis, Co-founder & Managing Director, Bienvenue Factory
Digital Marketing & Communication Luxury & Premium Retail
I ssue 6 8
Digital Marketing & Communication Tech & Innovation
55
|
SPEAKERS • Colin Priest, Senior Director of Product Marketing, DataRobot • Ming-Li Gridel, Customer-Facing Data Scientist, DataRobot
FOCUS MAGAZINE
Digital Marketing & Communication F&B & Hospitality Luxury & Premium Retail Tech & Innovation Start-ups & Entrepreneurs
Entrepreneurs’ and New Members’ Drink Entrepreneurs represent 25% of our business community. This informal networking session is great for entrepreneurs and new members to meet peers and exchange experiences, tips, best practices, and contacts, in a convivial environment. F
Business Accelerator Lab Every month, the French Chamber’s Business Accelerator Lab meets an entrepreneur seeking to present his or her business to get advice, recommendations and contacts from advisors composed of a panel of successful entrepreneurs and professionals from various sectors and functions. These past months saw sessions with Christian Anseaume, CEO of SwimtoF ly®, Emmanuel White, Co-founder & CEO of WeLinkTalent ,Thomas Guillet, Managing Director of Remedial Performance, and Stephanie Tahiri, Founder of Play2See. F
Start-ups & Entrepreneurs
FOCUS MAGAZINE
|
I ssue 6 8
56
Start-ups & Entrepreneurs
DUO Mentoring Programme A co-initiative with Business France and the French Trade Advisors, the French Chamber’s DUO Mentoring Programme provides an opportunity for French entrepreneurs and SME subsidiary representatives to exchange on business issues in 1-to-1 with high-profile business executives from MNCs who volunteer to mentor for up to 12 months. F
Start-ups & Entrepreneurs
If you are a French entrepreneur whose company was created in Singapore and has seen a minimum of one year of activity, apply to join this free programmne.
Women Entrepreneurs Round Table This regular roundtable enables women entrepreneurs to present their business and challenges and gain feedback from fellow women entrepreneurs in a supportive community. F
Business Women Start-ups & Entrepreneurs
If you are a woman entrepreneur member, join our luncheons, masterclass sessions, and other dedicated events.
If you are a French entrepreneur with a minimum of one year of activity, or a representative of a subsidiary of a French SME seeking to develop activities in Singapore and South East Asia, apply online to join this free programme.
CEO Tech Club The latest meetings of the French Chamber CEO Tech Club presented opportunities to meet Frédéric Moraillon, Founder of Sound-Principles, discuss recruitment strategies (Isabelle Larché, Managing Director of Timeo Performance and Emmanuel White, Co-Founder & CEO of WeLinkTalent), and share among the tech start-up CEO community business experiences and challenges (Julien Labruyère, Co-Founder & CEO of Sleek, Grégoire Rastoul, CEO of UEX, and Guillaume Martin, Co-Founder & COO of F lySpaces). F
Start-ups & Entrepreneurs
Tech & Innovation
Grants for Startups & SMEs : Essential Marketing Toolkits and Government Assistance Schemes for Your Business in Singapore A great overview on public funding and on all the services dedicated to business with a focus on the Productivity Solutions Grant (PSG) and e-commerce with SME Centre @SMF, a subsidiary of Singapore Manufacturing Federation SMF supported by Enterprise Singapore, with a useful Q&A session. F
Digital Marketing & Communication HR Start-ups & Entrepreneurs
57
Meet the CEO The latest sessions of Meet the CEO had been held with Jean Drouffe, CEO of AXA Insurance, Kevin Chow, CEO / Country Director of Thales Solutions Asia, Hugues Ricour, Managing Director U bisoft Singapore and U bisoft Philippines, and Patrick Pennamen, Managing Director of Naval Group. F
Start-ups & Entrepreneurs
An out of the box Experience Sharing with Successful Entrepreneurs An inspiring session on the entrepreneur journey in Singapore, sharing of entrepreneurship story, from first starting out, to expanding portfolio of events and overseas activities 5 years later. F SPEAKERS • Guillaume Chabrieres and Alexis Lhoyer f rom Chab Events
Digital Marketing & Communication Start-ups & Entrepreneurs
Meet the CEO is a monthly initiative dedicated to business matching. It provides opportunities for start-ups, entrepreneurs and SMEs to connect with MNCS in 1-to-1 meetings.
FOCUS MAGAZINE
|
I ssue 6 8
This exclusive club brings together French CEOs from the Tech Industry, providing a platform for exchange among peers and talks with international CEOs.
Demystifying Business Development through a step-by-step approach A hands-on workshop dedicated to Business Development, to provide a framework to thinking about concretely, planning and approaching business development. F SPEAKERS • Carina Rogerio, Managing Director & Founder, SeeAre, Executive Coach,SMC & SIMI Accredited Mediator, Business Strategist
Corporate Innovation in the Digital Age
Start-ups & Entrepreneurs
A Breakfast Talk on the keys to innovation in a digital world: Innovation Architecture, Innovation Sources, Innovation Capabilities, and how to improve innovation effectiveness. F SPEAKERS • Neil Thompson, Professor, MIT • Didier Bonnet, Consulting Global Practice Leader Digital Transformation, Capgemini
Digital Marketing & Communication Tech & Innovation
FOCUS MAGAZINE
|
I ssue 6 8
58
Tech & Innovation Networking Event An evening to expand the network among the Tech & Innovation sector at Mercure Singapore Bugis, exchange ideas and share experiences. F
Tech & Innovation
How Responsible Corporates can achieve sustainable social impact through collaboration with other stakeholders? A meeting on “collective impact initiatives” that have the potential to create systemic and holistic changes that meet critical social needs. F SPEAKERS • Laetitia Lienart, VP Corporate Citizenship, Crédit Suisse
HR
Sustainability & Responsibility
Change Management: Helping managers and teams embrace change and lead transformations A workshop for managers, HR or change agents to provide the foundation to leading change and equipping people to embrace change. F
Doing Business in Asia: The ethics and compliance challenge
SPEAKERS • Geraldine Gauthier, Founder, W2P Consulting
HR
An insightful Breakfast Talk on ethics and compliance, business risk concerns, strategies and management, and sharing of experience in developing the business in the region. F SPEAKERS • Michael Julian, Chief Compliance Off icer, Alstom • Christian Duhain, Founder & CEO, Athen Development Singapore • Dmitry Kosarev, Director, Forensics, PwC South East Asia Consulting
I ssue 6 8
Covered in this meeting included IRAS’ assessment process and risk–based approach to tax assessment, common issues and mistakes, the penalty framework, an overview of the investigation process and the opportunity to reduce penalties under the IRAS’ Voluntary Disclosure Program. F SPEAKERS • Kerrie Chang, Partner, EY • Sandesh Kumar, Associate Director, EY
Private Conversation with Mr Aubeck Kam - Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Manpower Had the pleasure of hosting Mr Aubeck Kam, Permanent Secretary of Singapore’s Ministry of Manpower for this up-close and personal discussion. Mr Kam shared on the Ministry’s local and foreign workforce policy direction, and exchanged with board members on their specific interests, pain points and suggestions in this area. F
HR
HR
Legal & Tax
|
Employees’ remuneration reporting in Singapore – Focus on common errors and how to Get it Right
FOCUS MAGAZINE
Aeronautics, Space, Defence & Security Asia Legal & Tax Sourcing & Supply Chain
59
Crowdfunding of innovative startups: What interests for expatriates? A session on investing via crowdfunding platforms, a new way of saving and diversifying, followed by a networking cocktail. F SPEAKERS • Stéphane Bunouf, CEO, Asteryos Group
Visit of Singapore’s Fort Knox: Le Freeport An opportunity to visit the high secured Le Freeport, the vault of bars of gold-silverplatinum and gain insights on how the gold market works. F SPEAKERS • Christophe Numa, Managing Director, Bunker Gold & Silver Singapore
Banking, Finance & Fintech
FOCUS MAGAZINE
|
I ssue 6 8
60
Banking, Finance & Fintech Legal & Tax Start-ups & Entrepreneurs
French Retirement: Understanding the Rules and Challenges for Expatriates A meeting dedicated to French retirement and pension plans, the rules, challenges and impacts especially for expatriates. F SPEAKERS • Bruno Renardier and Maurice Nhan, Novelvy
Legal & Tax
Information on l’Immobilier Locatif en Meublé LMNP in France An informational session in French on the LMNP the system of real estate investment in France. F SPEAKERS • Jean-François Fougeret, Réside Etudes Group
Banking, Finance & Fintech
Legal & Tax
French withholding tax implementation: A new French revolution? A meeting dedicated to the withholding tax reform to be implemented in France, on the consequences, in particular for non-French tax residents, individuals but also companies. F SPEAKERS • Anthony Pain, Senior Manager, PwC
Networking Luncheons
Between innovation and sustainable development, guided tour of an architectural surprise of Singapore, the hotel OASIA A fantastic guided trip to discover a building of an architecture surprise: innovation, technology, sustainable development in one, followed by a networking over Prosecco and cheese at the OSO Ristorante. F SPEAKERS • Ariane Nabarro, Founder & Director, Singapour sur Seine
Business Women F&B & Hospitality Smart Cities Sustainability & Responsibility
61 I ssue 6 8
F&B & Hospitality
|
Each month, the French Chamber organises a business luncheon at a different restaurant, enabling informal discussion to exchange opinions and develop new contacts over a French meal. The latest luncheons took place at L’Angelus, So France, L’Entrecôte The Steak & Fries Bistro at Duxton Hill, and Xperience Restaurant at So Sofitel. F
FOCUS MAGAZINE
Legal & Tax
n ew members Patron MEMBER The French Chamber is pleased to welcome a new Patron Member. DECATHLON SINGAPORE
Contact: Mr. Yves Claude, Regional CEO Website: decathlon.sg Sector: Sports Retail
Entrepreneur MEMBERS RETAIL EXCELLENCE DEVELOPMENT 5 PTE LTD
101CAFFE’ Singapore Pte.Ltd. Contact: Mr. Steve KNABL, Founder Website: 101caffe.sg Sector: Coffee Retail
Contact: Mr. Regis DUPERTUIS, President Website: red5.sg Sector: Retail Services
ADDICTIONBYJESS
62
THE GREEN GIRL
I ssue 6 8
Contact: Mrs. Jessica ABITBOL, Director Sector: Retail
BIENVENUE FACTORY
Contact: Ms. Adriana DIMITROVA, General Manager Website: thegreengirl.sg Sector: Bio Products
Conscious Delights
Contact: Mrs. Marie NADAL-SHARMA, Founder And Director Website: themyouandme.com Sector: Digital Consultancy
FOCUS MAGAZINE
|
Contact: Mrs. CHLOE CORTINOVIS, Managing Director Website: bienvenue.sg Sector: Retail Agency
THEM YOU & ME
Contact: Ms. Violaine GRIMPREL, Founder Website: consciousdelights.com Sector: F&B
THE RIGHT LATITUDE
EMILIE BORREL
Contact: Mrs. Claire JANAUDY, Founder Website: trl-1-290270.com Sector: Intercultural Services
GREGORY VANLERBERGHE
Contact: Mr. Arnaud RUBECK, Chief Executive Off icer Sector: Blockchain
Contact: Mrs. Emilie BORREL, President Website: ttf.sg Sector: Theatre Contact: Mr. Gregory VANLERBERGHE, Photographer Website: grvphotography.com Sector: Photography
KIWISOFT
TRIPWORLD PTE LTD
TVDH SINGAPORE PTE LTD
TVDH (S) Pte Ltd.
Contact: Mr. Aurélien GERON, Director Website: kiwisoft.io Sector: Digital learning
VALEX CONSULTANCY PRIVATE LIMITED
Contact: Mrs. Mai NGUYEN, Director Legal & Compliance Advisor Website: valex.sg Sector: Business Services
MORNING JUNE
Contact: Mrs. Jessica LEFORT, Director Website: morning-june.com Sector: Retail
ZOWEDO PTE LTD Contact: Mr. Antoine NICOLE, CEO Website: zowedo.com Sector: Digital Platform
INDIVIDUAL MEMBERS KATIA B. Contact: Mrs. Katia BARTHELEMY Website: katiabarthelemy.com Sector: Multicultural Training / Translation
Contact: Mr. Jérôme SANONER, General Manager Sector: Sales & Marketing Services
ZIMPLISTIC Contact: Mr. Alexandre MARKOCKI, Supply Chain Director Website: rotimatic.com Sector: AI
CORPORATE MEMBERS MANZALAB
COTY INC
Contact: Mr. Hadrien DUZAN, General Manager – APAC Website: manzalab.com Sector: Virtual Reality
DOMINOPOS
Contact: Ms. Sandrine WOIRNESSON, (Acting) Managing Director and CFO Website: villeroy-boch.com.sg/en/home.html Sector: Retail
Contact: Mr. Bruno ZYSMAN, CEO Website: dominopos.com Sector: Retail
GLOBALTRONIC AERO PTE LTD
Contact: Mr. Christopher FOO, Director Website: weare-pacif ic.com Sector: Manufacturing Capabilities
L’Excellence Pte Ltd Contact: Ms. Sylvie KHAU, Managing Director Website: lexcellencediamond.com Sector: Jewellery
VILLEROY & BOCH (Asia Pacific)
WALLONIA TRADE & INVESTMENT AGENCY
Contact: Mrs. Edith MAYEUX, Trade Commissioner Website: wallonia.be/en Sector: Trade Promotion
XENOCS
Contact: Mr. Frédéric BOSSAN, Executive Vice President Website: xenocs.com Sector: Solutions for Materials
LPA SINGAPORE PTE LTD
|
Contact: Mr. Arnaud BOURRUT LACOUTURE, Partner Website: lpalaw.sg Sector: Law
Associate MEMBERS ALFATECH VESTASIA PTE LTD
KEPPEL URBAN SOLUTIONS
Contact: Mr. Zach WILSON, Managing Director Website: atce.com.sg Sector: Construction
Contact: Mr. Anthony CHUA, General Manager Website: kepcorp.com/en/ Sector: Smart
BD ASIA CONSULTING CO LTD Contact: Ms. Bonnie GAO, Managing Director Website: bdasiaconsulting.com Sector: Consulting Firm in Sourcing Solutions
DATAROBOT PTE LTD
Contact: Mr. Vincent OOI, VP APAC Website: datarobot.com Sector: AI / Machine Learning
DOERSCIRCLE
Contact: Ms. Helle PRIESS, Founder & CEO Website: doerscircle.com Sector: Digital
DONNA SPA PTE LTD
Contact: Ms. Carol AW, Marketing Manager Website: donnabeauty.com.sg Sector: Beauty
EUROPEAN BEDDING
Contact: Mr. Thijs VEYFEYKEN, General Manager Website: europeanbedding.sg Sector: Sleeping Retail
63 I ssue 6 8
Contact: Mr. Jerome DUBOIS, GM South East Asia Website: coty.com Sector: Beauty
SHISEIDO TRAVEL RETAIL ASIA PACIFIC PTE LTD
Contact: Mr. Philippe LESNE, President and CEO Website: shiseido.com Sector: Cosmetics
SYSPRO SOFTWARE PTE LTD
Contact: Mr. Adi BUDIMAN, CEO Website: sg.syspro.com Sector: ERP Solutions
THE PEOPLE AT WORK PTE LTD
Contact: Ms. Joo-Lee AW, Group Managing Partner Website: thepeopleatwork.com Sector: Talent Management Consultancy
TERROIR
Contact: Mr. David GOH, Director Website: terroir.com.sg Sector: Wine
FOCUS MAGAZINE
ASIA RISK MANAGEMENT INSTITUTE Contact: Ms. Doureen WU, Executive Director Website: arimi.org Sector: Training Institution
64
stories
Quel week-end! French brands, French workshops, French discoveries with So Chic at Boutique Fairs Singapore! Quel week-end! From 9-11 November, So Chic and French brands were out in full force at the Boutique Fairs: The Gifting Edition 2018! A French corner, French lifestyle recreated in a classy Parisian apartment, plenty of activities and workshops from beauty to art de vivre and gastronomy, many new French brands to discover, the F1 Pit Building Singapore was buzzing with excitement, originality, and French chic. So Chic recreated the most intimate, elegant and cosy place you could possibly find, in the heart of French lifestyle, the French apartment, in collaboration with Gautier. An invitation to walk through five concepts for an immersion à la française: the dining room, the living room, the dressing, the beauty corner, and ‘Play with So Chic’. Over 30 French brands in beauty and jewellery, fashion, gastronomy and interior were present. Throughout all three days, So Chic had also organised workshops and fun French activities with many different brands and many different people! We started with a Frenchy Breakfast with Conscious Delights and Crème Simon on Friday morning, followed by La Petite Boutique Cheese Tasting in the evening. Christofle shared with Boutique Fairs goers the Art de la table on Saturday morning, and then we ate again with Ginett at an exquisite Charcuterie Tasting. Miam! Sunday morning was DIY Masks with Alcheme, and the evening was a Foie Gras Tasting with Café Gavroche. And not forgetting the rum dégustation with House of Rum! Double miam! And finally, not to forget, a French photobooth, So Chic tote bag giveaways, So Chic postcards, and great prizes at the So Chic lucky draw! Thank you to Hediard, L’Angelus, Merci Marcel, Morning June, Edition Limitée, Gauthier Millesimes, Café Gavroche and The French Grocer for the great lucky draw prizes. Read more So Chic stories on www.sochic.sg. F
FOCUS MAGAZINE
|
I ssue 6 8
65
Participating Brands:
Want to be featured on So Chic?
So Chic is an initiative of the French Chamber of Commerce in Singapore and its retail members, and showcases French shopping and dining in Singapore, from prestigious luxury brands, to relaxing bistros, designer shops, online stores and more. Contact us at hello@sochic.sg.
FOCUS MAGAZINE
|
I ssue 6 8
66
portraits
Behind-the-Scenes with French Chefs, Artists, Sommeliers in Singapore
Art Collector Guillaume LévyLambert from Art Porters
Interview with French Chef Stéphanie Le Quellec
At the Grill with French Chef Stéphane Istel from Bar-Roque
Guillaume Lévy-Lambert of Art Porters shares with So Chic his journey from brilliant regional CEO of a communication company to prolific art collector who runs a collection, a consultancy and a gallery at the same time. F
Taking 15 minutes of her break, celebrity French Chef Stéphanie Le Quellec spoke with So Chic with franc parler her cuisine inspirations, her values, and her family. And of course, we had to ask about her experience at Top Chef.. F
French Chef Stéphane Istel tells us about his culinary adventures, falling in and out of love with cooking, and leads us through the meaning behind Bar-Roque Grill and its dishes. F
Emmanuel Dron of The Auld Alliance on whisky lovers’ best kept secret
For the Love of Wine: French Sommelier Stéphanie Rigourd
Fantastic creatures and unknown dimensions with French Artist Lionel Sabatté
Imagine walking into a speakeasy from the 20’s, a smokey ambery chic and rugged sophisticated vibe… Welcome to The Auld Alliance! “Whiskey geek” Emmanuel Dron lights up as he speaks about his passion for whisky, collecting and sharing legendary bottles. F
With a bright smile, peps, and energy, French sommelier Stéphanie Rigourd of Vintage Wine Club tells us the story of how a small girl from the French countryside became a grand sommelier of Singapore, and many lovely stories of her journey across wine. F
So Chic popped by Mazel Galerie to meet with French experimental artist Lionel Sabatté at his “Mind over Matter” exhibition, where he walks us through a realm of fantastic creatures, unknown dimensions, deep dialogues and questionings. F
Discover these interviews and more on So Chic on www.sochic.sg. F FOCUS MAGAZINE
|
I ssue 6 8
67
experiences
So Chic Experiences: Live a unique French experience in Singapore It has been six months since the kick-off of So Chic French Experiences, and what an amazing journey it has been! Stunning immersions into French art de vivre, beautiful encounters and countless memories have filled each and every month of 2018’s second half, and it is not about to stop as 2019 beckons!
Find out more about So Chic experiences on www.sochic.sg. F
Star for a Day – So Chic x MAKE UP FOR EVER
Between Insolence & Elegance! So Chic x CHANEL
Become a Mixologist for a Night! So Chic x Pernod Ricard
Makeup, a photoshoot, champagne: the complete star treatment! An atelier with MAKE UP FOR EVER Academy on Frenchstyle makeup, an intimate session with many beauty secrets and tips. F
An exclusive So Chic experience with CHANEL, a private evening in Coco’s treasure box in the universe of the Maison‘s jewelry. Elegance, impertinence, a French experience, read it on So Chic. F
Our 30 aspiring bartenders arrived eager at the cosy-chic bar (in the office space!) of Pernod Ricard for cocktail workshops under the lights of alcohol and liquor, a tipsy and highly enjoyable experience! F
FOCUS MAGAZINE
|
I ssue 6 8
SERVICES
Privilege Card
RETAIL & LEISURE
2019
About the Card
WINE & DINE
TRAVEL & HOSPITALITY
The Privilege Card is personal and is exclusively reserved to members of the network of the French Chamber of Commerce in Singapore. It gives access to many benefits in Singapore and in France, with more than 50 participating member brands.
At your Fingertips Download the French Chamber app on your iPhone or Android phone and gain access to up-to-date information on all your member privileges, including new deals added along the year.
Education Terms & Conditions apply. Visit www.fccsingapore.com for more details.
p r e s e n ts
Become a Sponsor!
BOOK YOUR TABLE NOW!
A breathtaking live entertainment show together with the finest French cuisine: Two-Michelin-Star Chef Philippe Mille, “Meilleur Ouvrier de France” and “Bocuse de Bronze”, who will reveal his sumptuous dinner, as the world of enchanting fantasy unfolds before your eyes! Plat i n u m Sp on s or
G ol d Sp on s ors
Si lv er Sp on s ors
Off i cia l C ha m pagn e
Tel: 6933 1350 | gala@fccsingapore.com