SINGAPORE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 19, 2025--
On May 17, 2025, global fashion retail brand KKV debuted in Singapore’s Tiong Bahru Plaza with its first store. Up to now, KKV has already established a strong presence in four Southeast Asian countries — Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, and Vietnam. KKV’s debut store in Singapore not only expands regional footprint for its parent company KK Group, but also underscores the accelerated momentum of its “Southeast Asia Strategy.” On the opening day, young shoppers formed long queues around KKV’s iconic bright yellow container-style exterior to take check-in photos,igniting a social media frenzy among local young people.
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KK Group also owns The Colorist (beauty product concept store) and X11 (trendy toy concept store). Its vision “Live without Boundaries” drives a global presence spanning 1,000+ stores in six countries. As the core brand, KKV adopts the philosophy of “exploring 100 lifestyles,” and offers over 20,000 SKUs across eight categories, including trendy toys, home goods, daily essentials, cosmetics, and more, while actively exploring additional product possibilities.
Focusing on Gen Z: The Debut of KKV in Singapore Ignites a Consumption Frenzy
The color-coded shelving for different product categories and the bright yellow container-style exterior are visually striking, which triggered a surge of KKV related UGC (user-generated content) and quickly made it a local hot topic on social media.
KKV’s diverse product portfolio perfectly meet the needs of Singaporean Gen Z. “I was just here to take pics with my friend, but I ended up grabbing a bunch of stuff,” said Lim Jia Yi, pointing to her basket while in line at the checkout. “There’s always something new and fun here, you know? Young folks would definitely love it.” Sales data from the opening period showed that trendy toys, snacks, and household essentials were particularly popular among young Singaporean consumers.
Continuing to deeply engage and lead the development of Singapore’s trendy retail market
KKV has full confidence in the Singapore market, which stems from the city-state’s unique consumption potential and demographic advantages. Gen Z accounts for nearly 30% of the population in Singapore, with an annual per capita consumption expenditure exceeding SGD 30,000. This young demographic continues to drive rising demand for trendy products and experiential consumption, which aligns perfectly with KKV’s brand positioning. As stated by Rojen Wu, Chief Operating Officer of KK Group international project, “As a globally leading trend retail brand, KKV respects every individual. We hope that in KKV, everyone can find products they love and express their lifestyle attitude.”
Based on this, KKV will continue to deepen its partnerships with local commercial giants like CapitaLand and Frasers Property, leveraging their customer traffic advantages to rapidly penetrate the Singapore market. KKV plans to open 10 stores in Singapore by 2025 to cover more core commercial districts and further strengthen its brand influence.
Meanwhile, KKV will keep bringing in top-quality global products, refine its product assortment, and offer an upgraded shopping experience for Singaporean consumers — aiming to maintain its leadership in the trendy retail sector.
KKV’s grand opening drew huge crowds
MADRID (AP) — Venezuelans living in Spain are watching the events unfold back home with a mix of awe, joy and fear.
Some 600,000 Venezuelans live in Spain, home to the largest population anywhere outside the Americas. Many fled political persecution and violence but also the country’s collapsing economy.
A majority live in the capital, Madrid, working in hospitals, restaurants, cafes, nursing homes and elsewhere. While some Venezuelan migrants have established deep roots and lives in the Iberian nation, others have just arrived.
Here is what three of them had to say about the future of Venezuela since U.S. forces deposed Nicolás Maduro.
David Vallenilla woke up to text messages from a cousin on Jan. 3 informing him “that they invaded Venezuela.” The 65-year-old from Caracas lives alone in a tidy apartment in the south of Madrid with two Daschunds and a handful of birds. He was in disbelief.
“In that moment, I wanted certainty,” Vallenilla said, “certainty about what they were telling me.”
In June 2017, Vallenilla’s son, a 22-year-old nursing student in Caracas named David José, was shot point-blank by a Venezuelan soldier after taking part in a protest near a military air base in the capital. He later died from his injuries. Video footage of the incident was widely publicized, turning his son’s death into an emblematic case of the Maduro government’s repression against protesters that year.
After demanding answers for his son’s death, Vallenilla, too, started receiving threats and decided two years later to move to Spain with the help of a nongovernmental organization.
On the day of Maduro’s capture, Vallenilla said his phone was flooded with messages about his son.
“Many told me, ‘Now David will be resting in peace. David must be happy in heaven,’” he said. “But don't think it was easy: I spent the whole day crying.”
Vallenilla is watching the events in Venezuela unfold with skepticism but also hope. He fears more violence, but says he has hope the Trump administration can effect the change that Venezuelans like his son tried to obtain through elections, popular protests and international institutions.
“Nothing will bring back my son. But the fact that some justice has begun to be served for those responsible helps me see a light at the end of the tunnel. Besides, I also hope for a free Venezuela.”
Journalist Carleth Morales first came to Madrid a quarter-century ago when Hugo Chávez was reelected as Venezuela's president in 2000 under a new constitution.
The 54-year-old wanted to study and return home, taking a break of sorts in Madrid as she sensed a political and economic environment that was growing more and more challenging.
“I left with the intention of getting more qualified, of studying, and of returning because I understood that the country was going through a process of adaptation between what we had known before and, well, Chávez and his new policies," Morales said. "But I had no idea that we were going to reach the point we did.”
In 2015, Morales founded an organization of Venezuelan journalists in Spain, which today has hundreds of members.
The morning U.S. forces captured Maduro, Morales said she woke up to a barrage of missed calls from friends and family in Venezuela.
“Of course, we hope to recover a democratic country, a free country, a country where human rights are respected,” Morales said. “But it’s difficult to think that as a Venezuelan when we’ve lived through so many things and suffered so much.”
Morales sees it as unlikely that she would return home, having spent more than two decades in Spain, but she said she hopes her daughters can one day view Venezuela as a viable option.
“I once heard a colleague say, ‘I work for Venezuela so that my children will see it as a life opportunity.’ And I adopted that phrase as my own. So perhaps in a few years it won’t be me who enjoys a democratic Venezuela, but my daughters.”
For two weeks, Verónica Noya has waited for her phone to ring with the news that her husband and brother have been freed.
Noya’s husband, Venezuelan army Capt. Antonio Sequea, was imprisoned in 2020 after having taken part in a military incursion to oust Maduro. She said he remains in solitary confinement in the El Rodeo prison in Caracas. For 20 months, Noya has been unable to communicate with him or her brother, who was also arrested for taking part in the same plot.
“That’s when my nightmare began,” Noya said.
Venezuelan authorities have said hundreds of political prisoners have been released since Maduro's capture, while rights groups have said the real number is a fraction of that. Noya has waited in agony to hear anything about her four relatives, including her husband's mother, who remain imprisoned.
Meanwhile, she has struggled with what to tell her children when they ask about their father's whereabouts. They left Venezuela scrambling and decided to come to Spain because family roots in the country meant that Noya already had a Spanish passport.
Still, she hopes to return to her country.
“I’m Venezuelan above all else,” Noya said. “And I dream of seeing a newly democratic country."
Venezuelan journalist Caleth Morales works in her apartment's kitchen in Madrid, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)
David Vallenilla, father of the late David José Vallenilla Luis, sits in his apartment's kitchen in Madrid, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)
Veronica Noya holds a picture of her husband Antonio Sequea in Madrid, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)
David Vallenilla holds a picture of deposed President Nicolas Maduro, blindfolded and handcuffed, during an interview with The Associated Press at his home in Madrid, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)
Pictures of the late David José Vallenilla Luis are placed in the living room of his father, David José Vallenilla, in Madrid, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)
