Company News • 05.03.2014

Leading industry experts confirmed to speak at World Retail Congress Asia Pacific 2014

With less than four weeks until the World Retail Congress Asia Pacific takes place in Singapore, the Congress is delighted to announce a number of new speakers for the event. The speaker line-up will now include:

• Rt Hon Michael Fallon MP, UK Minister of State for Business and Enterprise
• Max Bittner, CEO, Lazada
• Deepesh Trivedi, Head of eCommerce, APAC, Facebook
• Sanjay Kapoor, Founder and CEO, Genesis Luxury
• Rowell del Fierro, President of South and Southeast Asia, Global Payments
• Harvey Bierman, Vice President, Global e-Commerce, Crocs Inc
• Roger Egan, Founder and CEO, RedMart.com
• Seema Aziz, Managing Director, Sefam Pakistan
• Launa Inman, Former Chief Executive, Billabong

Over 75 speakers from leading global retail brands including Alibaba, Gap, Walmart, SPAR International and Desigual will gather in Singapore from the 24th to 27th March. They will discuss Asian focused retail trends and provide insights to succeeding in this dynamic and diverse landscape.

The Congress will also hear from senior figures including: Scott Price, CEO and President, Walmart Asia; John Spelich, Group Vice President, Alibaba; Seah Kian Peng, Chief Executive Officer, NTUC Fairprice Co-operative; Jerry Black , Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer, Aeon; Redmond Yeung, Vice Chairman, Gap Greater China; Dr. Ira Kalish, Director of Global Economics & Consumer Business, Deloitte; Ritu Mohan, Managing Director, Boots Thailand; Sanjeev Mohanty, Managing Director, Benetton India; Mohamed Elsarky, President International, Godiva Chocolatier; Allen Penn, Head of Asia Operations, Uber.com.

The Congress will host a full three-day programme of speeches, panel discussions, and presentations, with a day specially dedicated to the unique retail landscape of China, the ‘Exploring China Forum’. The forum will include sessions on successful e-Commerce strategies, the transforming grocery and hypermarkets landscape and partnering strategies to enter this market, among others.

In addition, the Congress will include country specific sessions focused on key regions including Indonesia, India, Japan, Philippines and Malaysia. New market insights, statistics, and research will also be unveiled alongside keynote speeches on pertinent themes.

Key themes this year will include:

• The global economy and Asian trade – Forecasts for the future including reports on the current global economy and world trade statistics
• Building e-Commerce capabilities – Unique insights on the rise of online retailing and ways newcomers can capitalise on digital opportunities
• Supply chain innovation – Increase operational efficiencies and propel growth through supply chain innovation
• Customer is king – Engage customers through award winning services to help increase brand loyalty

Ian McGarrigle, Chairman of the World Retail Congress Asia Pacific, said: “The World Retail Congress Asia Pacific is the largest and most influential gathering of retailers in the region, providing an important platform for retailers to exchange ideas and discuss new innovations in the sector. We are delighted to welcome further industry experts to an already exceptional line up of speakers.”

Sanjeev Mohanty, CEO at Benetton India and member of the World Retail Congress Asia Pacific Advisory Board, said: “The 2014 Congress is so important for the industry only for one good reason. 2014 will be a year for reckoning across Asian Markets. It will be a year for inflection and tectonic changes will sweep the markets. It will be a great idea to hear what thought leaders across different sectors in the retail industry have to say. If one can pick up just one big idea here, you could have a breakthrough and game changing opportunity for your market or product. I am an eternal optimistic and I am coming to hunt for that one big idea!”

channels: trade fair organizer