Corporate Bits | MGM introduces “Biennial of the Lions” souvenirs as mementos

04MGM’s “Biennial of The Lions” has been well received, and its exhibition “Biennial of The Lions – Beyond The Roar,” has welcomed guests from school groups and associations in the community, as well as visitors from all over the world. Following the positive response, new lion sculptures have now been added to the property, and a selection of gift items and souvenirs are now available.
MGM has created a different experience for guests around the hotel and in the MGM Art Space. Visitors will now be greeted by two lion sculptures at the Grande Praça, on their way to the Art Space, where additional lion sculptures are also on display, enhanced with new animation and interactive features to give visitors a new perspective and visual experience, for a comprehensive journey.
An array of keepsakes have been specially designed and launched for guests to bring home as a memento of the exhibition. The items include hand-painted miniatures of the lion sculptures, lion coloring sets, wooden postcards and tote bags. MGM Macau has specially commissioned artists to re-create the lion sculptures in miniature form for visitors to take home. The items are available at the Grande Praça Café.

H&M to open new Macau branch amid margin concerns

Shoppers Inside H&M During The Grand Opening Of New Flagship Store on Fifth AvenueHennes & Mauritz AB reported a decline in third-quarter profitability and warned that higher garment costs will weigh on margins the rest of the year.
The shares fell as much as 4.2 percent, the most in six months, after Europe’s second-biggest clothing retailer also said September sales advanced at the slowest pace in a year as warm weather in many markets held back shoppers from updating their autumn wardrobes.
The gross margin narrowed to 58.3 percent in the three months through August from 58.8 percent a year earlier, the Stockholm-based company said, continuing its retreat from a 2010 peak.
“The question is: can the H&M gross margin ever rise?” Anne Critchlow, an analyst at Societe Generale, said by phone yesterday. “H&M isn’t committed to the gross margin in itself, it has a commitment to offering fashion at the best price to the customers, which I think is the right one for long-term market share growth, but it does mean perhaps the gross margin will be under pressure over time.”
H&M is expanding its online business and is investing in its other brands including & Other Stories and COS to stoke sales growth. Such investments for the longer term are weighing on the margin now, Chief Executive Officer Karl-Johan Persson said in an interview at H&M’s Stockholm headquarters. Wage increases the retailer helped push through in Bangladesh are also weighing on profitability, he said.
“Competition is getting tougher and tougher for every year,” Persson said. Still, he said the retailer is gaining market share in all its markets.
The retailer’s first store in India, which was planned to open this fall, is now anticipated to open in spring 2015. H&M also announced recently that it plans stores in Taiwan and Macau next year.

Categories Business