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Showing posts with the label Japnit Singh

Singapore to roll out automated tray return systems at hawker centers

As Singapore continues its drive to promote cashlessness, automated tray return systems might soon become a regular sight at hawker centers. Customers will be asked to make cash deposits which are refundable when they return their trays. Would customers be willing to accept digital refunds? Japnit Singh, Deputy Chief Executive Officer at Spire Research and Consulting, shared his viewpoint, published in Today Online’s news portal. Automated tray return systems could be rolled out across 25 hawker centers. Patrons going to hawker centers such as the ones in Marsiling Mall and Bukit Merah will have to shell out cash to make deposits of SGD0.50 and SG1 respectively for each tray they take. These deposits would be refunded upon the return of the tray. In a separate development, Ez-Link cardholders can also use their cards to pay for drinks and food at 1,000 stalls in over 30 hawker centers from April. An integrated cashless hawker center experience may entice customers to

Spire sponsors GBPIP’s Intellectual Property Summit Asia 2017 in Bangkok

Spire Research and Consulting sponsored the Global Brand Protection Innovation Programme’s (GBPIP) Intellectual Property Summit Asia 2017 held in Bangkok, Thailand from 14 to 15 December 2017. The Spire team shared our track record in brand protection performance management and consulting with event participants. The GBPIP summit aimed to study the global challenges manufacturers face from counterfeiters and look-alike products, discussing current and emerging best practices used to protect brands from unsafe imitations. Leon Perera, CEO of Spire Research and Consulting and Japnit Singh, Deputy CEO at Spire Research and Consulting attended the event to engage with event participants. They shared Spire’s extensive experience in the brand protection space, which includes counterfeit share measurement, brand protection program ROI measurement and anti-counterfeit consulting. https://www.spireresearch.com/newsroom/events/spire-sponsors-gbpips-intellectual-property-summit-as

Singapore gears towards a cashless society in 2018

As a new year dawns, Singapore continues to focus on becoming a cashless society. Despite several unsuccessful attempts in the past, many nationwide initiatives are set to launch soon. Will this be the year of change? Japnit Singh, Deputy Chief Executive Officer at Spire Research and Consulting shared his insights, published on Today Online’s news portal. The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) will launch common Quick Response (QR) codes next year. Moreover, the largest payment network in Singapore – Nets – will implement a QR code system in the middle of 2018 across all of its 100,000 acceptance points. However, Japnit opined that security concerns still loom. Previously, lack of interoperability confused consumers, whereas transaction and terminal fees prevented small businesses from offering credit card or Nets payments. This time around, fraudulent QR codes with malicious software to steal data and access customer bank accounts are causing trouble. It remains to

Spire and YBC host breakfast seminar on smart use of market and industry research to drive SME growth

On 4 May, Spire and Yamada Business Consulting (YBC) jointly held a breakfast seminar in Singapore to share ideas on how Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SME) can drive growth using smart market and industry research. Japnit Singh, Deputy Chief Executive Officer at Spire Research and Consulting, discussed how market research decisions impact different operating functions within a typical SME and what kinds of research techniques are commonly used, together with the pitfalls associated with each. Singh highlighted how market research can go beyond customer analysis at manageable cost if the business objective is clear, although the analysis of internal data and business intelligence can only provide limited information. To maintain the accuracy of market research data, a few pitfalls should be avoided. It is crucial to avoid asking the wrong questions, targeting the wrong respondents and over-emphasizing sample size, to name a few. https://www.spireresearch.com/ne

Getting to a unified digital payment system for Singapore

Nets – the leading payment solutions provider – recently announced that it would launch new payment modes across all of its 100,000 acceptance points in Singapore by mid-2018. What does this mean for Singapore’s quest for a unified payments system? Japnit Singh, Deputy Chief Executive Officer at Spire Research and Consulting shared his insights, published on Today Online’s news portal. Japnit opined that the infrastructure laid out by Nets for a unified point-of-sales terminal is a big step forward. But what was needed was an open platform with other payment companies able to join, to ensure competition. This is seen in the telco industry where infrastructure sharing is required. The new payment modes that Nets will implement include an app storing a digital version of Automated-teller machine (ATM) cards, new contactless cards along with mobile payments through Quick Response (QR) codes. It remains to be seen if transaction fees will be hiked. If so, merchants will h

Spire and YBC host breakfast seminar on the impact of demonetization in India

On 20 January, Spire and Yamada Business Consulting (YBC) jointly held a breakfast seminar in Singapore to explore the impact on India’s economy of the recent Rupee demonetization of high-value currency notes. Leon Perera, Chief Executive Officer of Spire Research and Consulting, Japnit Singh, Deputy Chief Executive Officer at Spire and Yasuyuki (Luke) Kita, General Manager of YBC (Singapore), addressed the session. Spire Singapore and YBC discussed the demonetization’s impact on different industry sectors, on e-commerce and on the outlook for doing business in India in 2017. The speakers talked about how demonetisation will spur growth in cashless transactions. Although the retail and car resale sector will suffer short-term damage, there is a visible shift towards modern trade and online transactions. Moreover, ease of doing business and transparency will rise, making India more investment-friendly. https://www.spireresearch.com/newsroom/events/spire-and-ybc-host-br

Spire and YBC host breakfast seminar on emerging business opportunities in Asia

On 28 September, Spire and Yamada Business Consulting (YBC) jointly held a breakfast seminar in Singapore to discuss emerging business opportunities in Asia facing Japanese firms. Leon Perera, Chief Executive Officer of Spire Research and Consulting, Japnit Singh, Deputy Chief Executive Officer at Spire; Yasuyuki (Luke) Kita, General Manager of YBC (Singapore) and Takuya Makimura, Manager of YBC (Singapore), addressed the session. Spire Singapore and YBC discussed emerging business opportunities in Asia for Japan Regional HQs. Seminar attendees, who were senior executives in Japanese, heard about how the Asian market can contribute substantially to the revenue of Japanese companies with regional headquarters in Singapore. The speakers talked about under-appreciated opportunities in Asia for Japanese companies. E-commerce will be an important pathway to access markets in Indonesia and India where complex channel structures have often proved forbidding to Japanese investors

Spire and YBC host breakfast seminar on business opportunities in dynamic Japan

On 23 September, Spire and Yamada Business Consulting (YBC) jointly held a breakfast seminar in Singapore to shed light on business opportunities in today’s dynamic Japan. Leon Perera, Chief Executive Officer of Spire Research and Consulting, Japnit Singh, Deputy Chief Executive Officer at Spire and Yasuyuki (Luke) Kita, General Manager of YBC (Singapore), addressed the session. Yamada Business Consulting recently acquired an 80% stake in the Spire Research and Consulting group. This acquisition gives Spire access to YBC’s extensive network of 5 offices and over 400 consultants in Japan to conduct research and advise clients on Japan market entry and growth. Spire Singapore and YBC discussed emerging business opportunities in Asia for Japan Regional HQs. Seminar attendees heard about how the Japan market can contribute substantially to the revenue of Singapore-based companies. The speakers talked about the macro-factors buoying Japan’s economic growth while also highlig

China leads e-commerce growth through smartphones

400 million Chinese consumers make online purchases and China’s e-commerce market is set to reach USD1.57 trillion by 2018, making it the world’s largest. As smartphone penetration continues to surge in Asia, online retail is evolving. Will mobile commerce become the dominant mode for online purchases in Asia? Japnit Singh, Senior Director at Spire Research and Consulting, shared his insights in China Daily – Asia Weekly. China’s e-commerce retail sales in 2015 increased by 42.1% to reach USD672 billion. This is equivalent to over 40% of global e-commerce retail sales. As the online retail experience continues to evolve, more purchases are made using smartphones. Growth factors responsible for this e-commerce boom include the rise in demand for imported products due to rising incomes, new online platforms and initiatives by the government. Cross-border consumer e-commerce added up to about USD40 billion (in 2015) – more than 6% of China’s consumer e-commerce in total.

Spire shares views of India’s online shoppers at the GATES ICT Summit 2016

Spire Research and Consulting was honored to participate at the GATES India ICT Reseller Summit 2016 as the content and research partner. The event was held in Pune from 16-18 February, 2016. The Summit is an initiative to provide a powerful business platform for consumer electronics and ICT brands to launch, develop and expand their network in the Indian sub-continent. Japnit Singh, Senior Director at Spire Research and Consulting, highlighted the perception of customers who purchase products through e-commerce websites as well as the experience of online retailers with online market place associations. Singh discussed research data and insights on customers’ with online purchases in the past six months and online retailers. The data was gleaned from telephonic surveys conducted (in December 2015) across six metropolitan cities, namely Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore, Chandigarh and Jaipur. The survey focused on customers’ purchase habits, preferred price range and product

Thai auto exports will counter sluggish domestic sales

As Southeast-Asia’s leading car-manufacturing exporter, Thailand is all set to increase its production of cars and light commercial vehicles from 1.9 million in 2014 to 3 million by 2024. Despite that, domestic sales remain low due to tighter credit and weak purchasing power. Will Thailand’s auto sector still maintain its competitive edge? Japnit Singh, Senior Director at Spire Research and Consulting, shared his insights in China Daily – Asia Weekly. Despite frequent political unrest, Thailand is home to 18 of the biggest names in global car manufacturing. This has enabled Thailand to establish a solid car ecosystem and sustained momentum for the sector’s growth. Singh pointed out that this network of global brands is strengthened by a network of local Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SME’s) coupled with abundant supply of skilled labor force and favorable excise policies. Singh noted that exports will help counter low domestic sales which occurred primarily due to

Spire joins AmCham Corporate Community Day for eighth consecutive year

Spire Singapore collaborated with the Singapore Children’s Society for the fifth consecutive year, in support of AmCham Singapore’s Corporate Community Day (CCD) 2015. This is the eighth year in which Spire has been participating in the CCD program, which aims to promote corporate volunteerism. Spire Singapore took beneficiaries of the Singapore Children’s Society to an ice-cream making session. The children were excited to have the chance to create their own flavors and decorate their creations, while picking up a useful and fun skill. We were honored by the visit of Ms Mary-Gardner Coppola from the US Embassy, who joined in the ice-cream making session. Ms Coppola interacted with the beneficiaries as well as the staff and volunteers of Spire Singapore and the Singapore Children’s Society. She and Mr Japnit Singh, Spire’s Senior Director, had a great time judging the ice cream creations. Their conclusion? All were magnificent. Spire is proud to support the wonderful

Singapore celebrates its golden jubilee

Singapore celebrated its golden jubilee as one of the world’s developed economies. Following the death of founding father Lee Kuan Yew and the current global economic headwinds, can economic momentum be maintained? Japnit Singh, Senior Director, Singapore and India, of Spire Research and Consulting shared his insights in China Daily – Asia Weekly. Singapore has successfully built a strong foundation for its economy with human development indicators such as education, life expectancy and per capita income on a positive high. Singh cautioned that the nation needs to focus in order to take bold and productive political decisions without becoming complacent. Moreover, it would be interesting to see if the next generation of political leaders would take difficult decisions with the same firmness and transparency as the founding fathers have done in the past. Singapore’s GINI coefficient – calculated as the ratio of income of the top 20% of population with the bottom 20% –

Automotive Aftermarket segment lures ASEAN industry players

With Automotive Aftermarket demand expected to soar at 13% from 2010 to 2018, how can industry players cash in on this market opportunity? Japnit Singh, Senior Director, Singapore and India of Spire Research and Consulting shared his insights in the Lube Report Asia magazine. Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) in the automotive industry are operating in highly competitive markets. In most countries, they are fighting for market share via promotions and heavy price discounts. OEMs are always on the look-out for new income streams. It is in this context that industry players and manufacturers in Indonesia and Malaysia have been zeroing in on the lubricant oil market. Singh highlighted that post-sales services – inclusive of oil change and regular maintenance check – generate higher profit margins than vehicle sales. The current low oil prices have encouraged motorists to use their cars more often – raising demand for aftermarket services and parts, including lubricant oil.