3 minutes estimated reading time
Suncity
If you’re of a certain age, you might think that Suncity is related to Sun City in South Africa. Both are in the gambling resort businesses but I don’t think that either are connected. Sun City is part of a pan-African hotel and resort group headquartered in South Africa.
You might even remember remember the Artists against Apartheid song.
Suncity was associated with gambling junkets to Macau. The company is associated with Alvin Chau. Prior being sentenced to prison for 18 years, Chau was known as a philandering casino tycoon with a Malaysian-American mistress Mandy Lieu (劉碧麗).
Suncity Holdings was a Hong Kong listed investment company with:
- Resort business in the Philippines
- Hotels and gaming businesses in Russia
- Consultancy for running hotels and resorts
- Travel Agency and air chartering services
- Property development
- Shopping mall management
After Chau’s arrest, Suncity cut ties and shut down gambling rooms associated with Chau. Suncity then changed its name to LET.
The FT alleges that Suncity is also connected with online sports gambling, with services aimed at mainland Chinese. This is illegal in China.
The most shocking part of the FT’s video is The Gaming Commission (TGC) admitting that they didn’t want to disclose information as it would undermine trust in the ability of TGC to do its due diligence properly.
Beauty
Luxury Daily | Richemont launches in-house luxury beauty division
China
Australia’s daigou days done? | WARC – tightening regulatory standards and alternative employment are cited as two key factors by Asia News Network. I would also add increased national pride gau chao has changed the game for Chinese domestic brands
China Is Full of Risk For U.S. Companies – The New York Times – I consider it more analogous to a sunk cost fallacy
FMCG
PZ Cussons/Nigeria: delisting local unit suggests little faith in recovery | Financial Times
How to
PlainScribe – better transcription from audio or video files
These 38 Reading Rules Changed My Life – RyanHoliday.net
Luxury
How Coach is using “expressive” luxury to connect with Gen Z | WARC – Heritage brands find themselves at a crossroads between preserving their historical roots and resonating with younger demographics. Tapping into influencer partnerships and cause-related initiatives are two ways to strengthen consumer engagement while simultaneously retaining a brand’s established culture.
Can Tokyo Fashion Week get back on track? | Vogue Business – The Japanese event is rebuilding momentum and simmering with fresh and unique talent, but hopes for international success are hobbled by insularity and pandemic lockdown aftereffects
S.Koreans spend on luxury rather than futureーNHK WORLD-JAPAN NEWS
Marketing
From Mad Men to machines? Big advertisers shift to AI | Reuters
Materials
Hyundai N: Drive in Style and Power With Carbon Fiber Wheels From Dymag | Carbon Fiber Gear – carbon fibre rims bonded to magnesium alloy centrepiece
Great manufacturing video showing 100% sports sunglasses being made. Interesting that they choose not to manufacture in China. 100% came out of the motocross scene in the US, back in the 1980s.
Media
REmade Retail Media News: Collaboration and margin salvation – retail media will boost margins more than AI
Pearl TV Responds to Critics of 3.0 Encryption | TV Tech
Online
AI Image Company Rebrands After 404 Media Investigation | 404 Media
Meta axes support for news in Europe | Financial Times
Social Media Decline: Ending for Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok | Business Insider – decline is a bit strong, more like behaviour has normed
Retailing
How dollar stores (especially Dollar General) have quietly conquered America. The documentary talks about how they’ve reduced their base costs and can work in sparse or very low income communities. If nothing else, this reminds of you of the scale in America’s mid-West.
Security
UK pulls back from clash with Big Tech over private messaging | Financial Times