Rocket Internet, a German company well-known for their ability to clone thriving businesses and execute it in other geographical markets, have launched a Pinterest clone called Pinspire, reported Daily Social.

Not exactly an inspiring name, but Rocket Internet is not known for being original either. What’s unique about them though, is how fast they are able to copy a business idea and get it up and running in no time.

Pinspire, which, like Pinterest, is an online bulletin board that enables users to bookmark and collect images from anywhere on the Internet, has been launched globally, including the Southeast Asian countries of Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines and Vietnam.

Their decision to copy Pinterest isn’t exactly a surprising choice. According to comScore, Pinterest is the fastest growing independent website in the US to hit ten million unique monthy unique visits.

This latest revelation sheds further light on Rocket Internet’s warpath in Southeast Asia. Last month, I broke the news that Rocket Internet has already launched a fashion e-commerce site called Zalora.com in Malaysia. The site has since launched in Singapore.

They are also going into the furniture and online food takeaway business.

Successful companies that they’ve already invested in include: OZON.ru, an Amazon-like website, BigLion, a daily deals site, and ivi, an online video site.

They also operate a separate fund called RTP Ventures, that focuses on US investments.

In Southeast Asia, they have already funded MJ Group, a Vietnamese e-commerce platform. They are looking at the Indian market next.

The Russian firm hopes to pump in around US$5 to 20M in a single transaction, focusing on startups that have already gone pass the seed round and operate in the areas of online travel, e-commerce, entertainment, and social gaming.

Right now, they have Digital Media Partners, a VC firm in the emerging markets in Southeast Asia, as a regional partner.

Just recently, they launched a pilot program in Singapore’s train stations to allow locals to purchase Valentine’s Day gifts at discount using QR codes, reported AllThingsD.

To purchase a gift, commuters would need to download a QR code reader on their mobile phones to scan the right spot on the poster. They will be brought to a webpage where they can purchase the product using PayPal. The experiment is being run on 15 subway stations in Singapore.

PayPal’s initiative follows a similar move by Cold Storage supermarket during the Christmas season last year, in which they offered groceries like Christmas ham to commuters at a couple of train stations.

Both programs are likely inspired by supermarket chain Tesco in South Korea, which is apparently the one that started the whole trend.

While Tesco reportedly received positive results and increased sales because of their virtual stores, it’s unclear if Cold Storage experienced a significant boost as a result of their experiment.

Although QR codes have frequently been dismissed as a gimmick and a passing fad, it’s more likely that the technology will see niche usage among marketers, who are still figuring out how to use it effectively.

It is also competing with even more advanced technology like NFC, which many believe will herald the new age of mobile payments. But NFC is unlikely to supplant QR codes completely, since both have different use cases.

PayPal appears to understand this well. It is putting its eggs in many baskets, investing in NFC for its Android app, and also working with Home Depot in the United States on a small point-of-sales trial.

Check out the video about PayPal’s Valentine’s Day special in Singapore:

More epic stuff about QR codes:

Ten QR code sins to avoid
QropIt hopes to take QR code implementation to the next level
Good and bad examples of QR code implementation (from Facebook)

Philippines telecom operator Globe has partnered with Singapore counterpart SingTel to bring MyAppsMall, a cross-platform mobile app store, to Globe prepaid and postpaid subscribers in the Philippines, reported ABS-CBN.

The app store contains over 20,000 free and paid apps, which includes categories like games, social networks, Internet browsers, lifestyle, news, entertainment, and more. The app can be accessed via a web browser on both PC and mobile.

Being cross-platform, the app store contains content for Android, Symbian, Java, and BlackBerry devices. It serves as an additional platform for developers, especially Filipino ones, to create, distribute, and monetize their apps internationally.

SingTel has made the app store available outside the Philippines.

Customers of Globe and other SingTel affiliates can pay for content via operator billing, which means expenses incurred on the app store are charged directly to their monthly mobile bill.

Network subscribers outside the SingTel Group can still buy content from the app store, but they’ll have to use their credit cards.

MyAppsMall is billed as an initiative to promote Filipino talent to the international market by giving them an extra distribution channel for their works. In crowded marketplaces like Apple’s App Store and Android’s Marketplace, it can be hard for new app developers to get their content noticed.

More epic stuff:

5 trends that will shape the app world
S’pore-based company offers glimpse of future with HTML5 game Dollar Isle

Cupcakes from Teacosy are sold alongside angel figurines and furniture.

As technology advances and business concepts evolve, an increasing number of F&B entrepreneurs and service solution providers are thinking out-of-the-box and making life easier for customers.

By innovating, F&B entrepreneurs enjoy reduced overheads, better customer service and additional revenue. Customers feel more satisfied too. In this article, we chart four recent trends in the F&B industry that have dramatically improved how businesses are run.

If you’re a restaurateur or cafe owner, do look at these trends and consider implementing them in your business.

Managing orders wirelessly

The wireless paging system from Food Icon.

Customers often struggle to get the attention of busy waitresses. Staff also find the handling of order tickets a struggle at times.

To solve these problems, food eateries are adopting new wireless communication devices from companies like Food Icon to make the ordering process a breeze. Swensen’s and Aston Express are some of its customers.

One of its products, Wi-Serve, is a paging service that allows restaurant operators to quickly and easily contact their patrons. It can be used to inform customers when an order is ready to be collected or when a table is available.

Consisting of one transmitter with many handheld coaster pagers, restaurant operators can enter the pager number into the transmitter and press ‘send’, allowing patrons to receive the alert on their coaster pagers immediately.

Says Vincent Shi, co-founder of the company: “The increasingly tight labour market is a strain on the F&B industry. Paging technology can help F&B operators improve productivity and efficiency in spite of limited manpower.”

“Matured countries such as Japan and Korea which encountered manpower shortage many years before Singapore, are heavily reliant on paging technology in their F&B industry.”

F&B outlets are no longer just selling food

Running mixed businesses from the same outlet is becoming a more popular trend among F&B operators. TeaCosy is one example: It serves comfort food and sells angel figurines, lifestyle accessories and classic vintage furniture at the same time.

Daphne Tan, owner of Teacosy, has two retail partners housed within its premises: Ten Thousand Angels (angel figurines, lifestyle accessories) and A Thousand Tales (Scandinavian retro furniture).

“We were all friends to begin with and found that each had our strengths to offer which complemented the space we had. We wanted to offer something unique and niche for consumers, especially those who shop for the angels in-store because they come in and marvel at the ambiance. We also give them an opportunity to dine in-house.”

Pocket Full Of Posies, another unique concept store in the form of a floral retail cum café has outlets in VivoCity and Plaza Singapura.

From the very beginning, they’ve merged both concepts into one as economics dictated it. They worked with the landlords who were able to think-out-of-the-box and allow a unit to be mixed-use.

Online reservations are making restaurants more efficient

Reserveit.sg is a pioneer of online restaurant reservation in Singapore.

When competing with a crowd of hungry diners, the best way to get into a restaurant is to reserve a table. But finding the right restaurant and then making a reservation isn’t always easy. That is where online reservation websites like Reserveit.sg and Chope are built to the benefit of both diners and F&B operators.

Reserveit.sg enables diners to search for the most suitable restaurant, reserve a table, and receive confirmation almost instantly. This differs greatly from the usual telephone call to book a table.

Jesper Gustafsson, director of business development, says: “We have seen a steady increase both in participating restaurants and members on our website. It is only in Asia that restaurants and diners have not utilised this tool for their mutual benefit, convenience and efficiency.”

Describing the benefits that such technology entails, he says: “Using such a system helps diners eliminate time calling multiple restaurants, not having their calls answered, waiting for the email reply in vain or worry that the staff didn’t take the reservation down accurately.”

He adds: “Restaurant operators increase their revenue by getting more reservations and are able to organize their restaurant and optimise seating times and seating arrangements in ways not possible with the pen-and-paper system that they are used to.”

Payments over the cloud

Ordering and paying for food at eateries is becoming simpler and more convenient with the integration of new technology into the ordering process. A good case study would be eOrderNPay, a cloud-based menu ordering and payment solution developed by B-Secure Technologies and Swiff.

eOrderNPay cuts down waiting time for diners by providing interactive e-menus, as well as a faster checkout and payment process. F&B operators would also gain from a reduction in overheads and indirectly provide better customer service in terms of shorter waiting time and an efficient order-payment system.

Here’s how the system works:

• Customers browse the eMenu, select his choices and place his orders all from a tablet.
• Payment transactions takes seven seconds to complete with a tap and swipe of a credit card over 3G or WiFi. The transaction is highly secure and authenticated.
• An eReceipt will be sent to the customer’s email account instantaneously.

Conclusion

Restaurateurs and café owners have been traditionally slow to adapt new technology. But that is slowly changing.

Helped by the rising ubiquity of 3G and WiFi Internet access, and also the openness of younger entrepreneurs who are less resistant to technology and different business models, the F&B industry is prime for a shake-up.

Rising rental costs do also play a part — entrepreneurs are forced to think out of the box and merge seemingly disparate businesses into one.

About the author

Julian Abraham Chua is a freelance writer whose works were featured in Strait Times’s Youthink section previously and regularly writes for various magazines including NTUC Lifestyle, Spin Asia, Timeout Singapore and Campus Magazine.  Graduating from Nanyang Polytechnic not too long ago and majoring in business management, he along with his friends, started a company YTY Group and is now an established entreprenuer with his own distribution business in gifts and stationery. His passion for the pen was ignited when he started writing for his polytchinic’s online news portal and interviewed various rising sports stars including footballer Hariss Harun and national gymnast Lim Heem Wei.

Depending on who you ask, HTML5 is the future of mobile apps. Juha Paananen, founder and CEO of GamesMadeMe, a Finland and Singapore-based games studio, certainly believes it.

Having received some seed funding from Lifeline Ventures, they are now betting big on the technology with the launch of their first HTML5 game, Dollar Isle.

It is a CityVille-like game that puts you in charge of creating your own city from the ground up. As you complete more goals, you unlock more buildings and plots of land where you can expand your city. You can even decide if you want to pursue the evil industrialist path or the earth-loving, eco-city one.

You will even get a custom URL for your own city (mine’s here, although it’s not exactly a metropolis).

The advantage of web apps made with HTML5 is that you can access it from any device, and it would look and feel exactly the same — as far as screen estate allows it. There’s no need to install any apps either, which could iPhone users the hassle of needing to search for a WiFi connection to download large apps (a restriction I find annoying).

From a developer’s point of view, coding in HTML5 is a time and cost saving measure since there’s no need to learn the programming languages that different platforms like iOS, Android, and Windows Phone use.

In the past year, the development of web apps using HTML5 has been gaining steam, with Facebook coming on board as a prominent backer.

“The browser will become the dominant platform on desktop and mobile and people will start to expect that they can play the same game and be part of the same experience on all devices…most games of the future will be designed so that you can access them from anywhere,” said Juha via email.

While it is plausible in the near future for developers to abandon the native app route in favor of sophisticated web apps, there are several roadblocks, especially when it comes to creating mobile games.

Web apps, for now, do not have the ability to take advantage of a phone’s features, like the camera, GPS, NFC, push notifications or accelerometer, the way native apps can. Which means web apps will always be a step behind the cutting-edge.

Graphics performance on native apps is still way ahead of web apps, which is why Facebook, although a firm believer of HTML5, has not stuck solely to a web app.

This speed gap is noticeable when I played Dollar Isle on my iPhone — the game stuttered at certain instances (Update: Juha pointed out that the iPhone 4 and 4S face certain browser performance issues. The game works much faster on the iPad, and with hardware accelerated graphics coming to mobile browsers soon, he expects great improvements in the next 12 months.)

This means that developers who are delivering apps or games with intense graphics should stick to native apps for now.

Nevertheless, GamesMadeMe is sticking to its guns, betting that the technology will mature and more mobile users will flock to the open pastures of web apps.

With HTML5-related technology evolving so rapidly, who knows what might happen one year from now?

The founders, Tham Keng Yew and Eileen Feng, recently shared in a press release some tips regarding how companies can expand regionally.

Bearing in mind the limited resources that SMEs and start-ups have, here are the four guiding principles:

1. First-priority region: Which target market could give you a strong competitive edge? Cost of expansion? Who are your competitors over there? Price point? Why should your potential buyers switch over to you?
2. Anchor buyers: Who do you need to get on your side in order to verify your business model in that country?
3. Relevant introductions: Let professional business matchmakers help you find potential buyers and introduce you to them. An introduction made by a trustworthy matchmaker could be the key to being on your buyer’s radar.
4. Meet your buyers to close the deal: In order to make your overseas trip worthwhile, you can participate in an international trade show with a business matching program. Invite your potential buyers to meet you there.

Keng Yew, CEO of Singapore-based Socialwalk, emphasized again the importance of professional matchmakers, which allows entrepreneurs to “jump the queue” when seeking buyers. Socialwalk can play such a role.

A senior sales executive from Clean Air & Fluid System in Malaysia, one “Mr Akram”, used Socialwalk when he were in Jakerta. He claimed he was able to get more partners and clients that way.

Socialwalk is also in talks with key Chinese trade show organizers and export-ready companies to provide their buyer-seller matching services.

From Valentine’s Day to 28th February 2012, Socialwalk is offering export-ready companies with an introduction to a relevant buyer. If you’re curious, send your contact details to eileen@socialwalk.com, with “Subject : I am ready to expand overseas”.

More epic content that’s related:

Interview with PropertyGuru CEO Steve Melhuish on how he expanded overseas.
A look at countries that tax your company to death, and those that don’t.

Malaysia's digital economy is similar to Singapore and Brunei.

Recently, I was invited to speak on entrepreneurship and consumer Internet trends in a private event hosted by Penn Olson during Startups in Asia, which happened from 2nd to 4th February.

In this article, I will highlight additional perspectives to shed greater light on the ideas presented during my talk, which gave the audience a better grasp on the consumer internet space in Southeast Asia.

Two clusters of economies in Southeast Asia, based on mobile and Internet penetration rates

Glancing at the mobile and internet penetration rates in ASEAN countries, we see two prevailing trends (see slide 4 of the presentation provided below).

But before that, it’s important to note that the internet penetration rate is constructed based on the number of broadband internet subscribers divided by the total population, while the mobile penetration rate is calculated using the number of mobile subscribers (mobile phones are not distinguished as either featured/WAP phones or smartphones). As a result, mobile penetration rates are usually more than 100 percent, which just means that most users own more than one phone.

Taking into consideration the ratio of mobile and internet penetration rates, we see two clusters forming: The digital economies of Singapore, Brunei and Malaysia share very similar behaviour where smartphone ownership is becoming significant in the cities, while the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam represent emerging digital economies where smartphone penetration are relatively low but the consumers uses social media with low mobile rates without knowing that they are accessing the Internet.

Looking at Cambodia, which may represent a potential digital economy of 53 million people, one can conjecture that it is heading in a similar direction as Vietnam or Thailand. As for Myanmar, the infrastructure must be built first before a digital economy can arise.

Missing elements in the Southeast Asia Ecosystem

I have indicated in my talk that there are at least three missing elements (and they may be more). Let’s start from the first issue: the lack of series A funding in the region of US$0.5M to US$2M. The reason why most investors avoid this funding range is because it’s a risky stage where a company can grow into a proper and sustainable entity or go south if they cannot find sustainable revenue streams.

As a result, most companies which can potentially grow will not be considered by investors. However, seed funding is readily available because the quantum of investment is low. To get a better chance of obtaining funding in this range I talked about, the company has to leapfrog and generate significant revenues quickly, otherwise it is very tough to move forward.

The second issue is the dearth of talent to scale the company. If we match founders from Southeast Asia to Silicon Valley, the difference is not that wide apart. The real difference is in the management team with people who are formerly from big companies that can help to scale the company. We read often from tech blogs about the movement of people from one big tech company to another, but this phenomenon is very rare in Southeast Asia. The reason is that most start-ups cannot afford the lifestyle of these executives and the opportunity of exits are very minimal.

The last issue relates to most VCs in Southeast Asia: A lot of them are former financiers and not really business operators by experience. We cannot fault them for their backgrounds, but it does have an impact on how they assess companies.

To be blunt, a former banker constructs a company’s valuation by profit and loss. If Facebook was started in Southeast Asia, they can never survive. The reason is that they did not generate any revenue or profit until their pre-IPO investment round. Of course, Facebook was a bit bet and the odds of finding companies like it are really small.

But I am seeing good signs in Singapore where we have people like Meng Weng Wong (co-founder of JFDI Asia) and Batara Eto from East Ventures who are former entrepreneurs running venture incubators and are investors as well.

Photo: WhizKris

The founder, Sebastien Eckersley-Maslin, a former Navy officer, said: “Southeast Asia is close to our door and has lots of support from the Singapore Government and other governments, and larger corporates. We want to be part of that.”

He added that a US presence will be established in San Francisco. Both locations will be formally launched simultaneously, and all the incubators will eventually be linked via video-conferencing.

BlueChilli also plans to launch a new start-up every month. In the works is GiggedIN, a site that gives musicians a new way to book gigs, and RenterFixer, a tool for real estate managers to streamline the process of fixing broken appliances or utilities.

Sebastien said that his incubator’s approach is different from other tech businesses. It focuses on getting the business model right before looking at the technological solution, while many start-ups work the other way around.

It was not a happy year for big bookstores.

In August and September 2011, Borders closed both its outlets in Wheelock Place and Parkway Parade. In October, Computer Book Centre, at Funan IT Mall, followed suit, becoming an exclusively online business.

More bad news followed in December: Home-grown book retailer Page One announced that it will close its store in VivoCity on 19th February this year in VivoCity due to high rentals. The company has been incurring major losses since its opening in 2006.

The trend continued this year, when Harris Bookstore, which is owned by Popular Holdings, told the press that its Great World City outlet will cease operating, coincidentally, on 19th February. High rentals, again, was to blame.

Harris is now left with one outlet in 313@Somerset, after the company’s Jurong Point bookstore shuttered for good in 2011.

The rate of closure of bookstores recently has been startling. That’s six stores in seven months.

But while the stated reason has been the unforgiving rentals, I suspect it’s masking the true cause — their revenue just isn’t enough to cushion any spike in rentals. The profit margins, it seems, just isn’t what it used to be.

While it’s difficult to determine whether the Internet and the increasing popularity of e-books have directly resulted in the declining sales of physical books, I can safely say that the golden age for mass book retailers has long passed.

Why waste two hours making a trip down to a bookstore when I can easily find what I want on Amazon and get it shipped to my house? Why carry ten books around when I can store a hundred on my iPad?

Physical books will never go extinct, that’s for sure. Just like how radio stations are continuing to exist today in spite of the television and the Internet. Some people will always prefer the experience of flipping through a physical book. But this group is a diminishing breed.

Meanwhile, small, independent bookstores seem to be hanging on. What a turnaround from more than decade ago, when movies like You’ve Got Mail portrayed independent bookstores as being threatened by retail giants.

In Singapore, small book retailers like BooksActually, Woods in the Books, and The Pigeonhole continue to draw a cult following. BooksActually has even experienced a 30 percent sales increase since last year, the owner told The New Paper.

But as consumers continually warm to the idea of e-books, online retailers, and their obvious benefits, will independent bookstores eventually come under threat too?

How these small businesses innovate is key.

The Pigeonhole’s business model may possess some answers. It does much more than sell books — it bills itself as a multi-use space for holding events and dining in. It’s a place that provides a cosy environment for people to eat and network, thereby addressing a fundamental need. These activities can never be totally replaced by the Internet, not for the foreseeable future.

BooksActually is adopting a different strategy to stay afloat. Instead of just stocking books, it has positioned itself as an important facilitator for the growth of the Singapore literary scene. It provides a venue for events like writing workshops and also acts as a publisher of local works.

The company also stocks eclectic items and memorabilia which brings to consumers a sense of nolstagia. I remember visiting an outlet once and coming across vintage Pez dispensers and “country erasers”, which has doubled as a childhood game that is popular among boys.

The pleasant experience of browsing the store and discovering these little delights is an intangible element that online retailers can’t quite duplicate. In a country where important landmarks are frequently bulldozed over, BooksActually provides customers a sense of rootedness to an increasingly murky past.

What is clear is that physical bookstores that only serve the utilitarian function of selling books will not do well in the digital age. If browsing is all customers want to do, they’d might as well do it online with a web browser and the search button.

Therefore, modern book retailers must think harder about how to entice customers to their stores. Just “selling stuff” doesn’t quite cut it anymore.

Kinokuniya, Times, and MPH should consider themselves warned.

Photo: Chicago Geek