Driving change through innovation and transformation

As retailers strive to stay relevant and serve the needs of evolving customer demands, the recent Asia-Pacific Retailers Convention and Exhibition (APRCE) provided a platform to examine creative strategies to give customers an engaging shopping experience, as Muneerah Bee discovers.

IN recent years, Asia-Pacific has transformed into a thriving retail hub, and the region is home to some of the fastest-growing economies in the world.

In his opening speech at the launch of the 18th Asia-Pacific Retailers Convention and Exhibition (APRCE) on 26 October, Federation of Asia Pacific Retailers Associations (FAPRA) chairman Lorenzo C Formoso said that the size of the middle class in the region has progressively expanded as millions have risen up from poverty. “This also translates to a growing number of consumers across Asia with growing disposable incomes who are able and willing to spend.”

In South-east Asia, he added, the growing number of the middle class has beefed up the demand for a wider variety of consumer products, resulting in more opportunities for retailers. “Moreover, APAC consumers are some of the most connected in the world, which positions the Asia-Pacific region as the leader in the e-commerce business.”

He maintains that consumption in the region will continue to increase, giving retailers the most ideal opportunities to grow and transform their businesses.

In line with the theme of “Transformation, Creativity and Beyond” at APRCE 2017, the event saw an average of 3,000 visitors per day to the exhibition and the number of registered conference delegates stood at more than 2,000 from 18 countries in Asia-Pacific.

Held at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre from 25-27 October 2017, it is Asia-Pacific’s largest retail event is organised by the Federation of Asia-Pacific Retailers Associations (FAPRA) and hosted by the Malaysia Retailers Association (MRA).

Future-ready retailers
APRCE 2017 was declared open by Malaysia’s Minister of Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism, Hamzah bin Zainudin, who noted that it is an exciting time for retailers, as ongoing changes bring about new concepts, ideas, technologies and new ways of retailing to be learnt and embraced.

The delegates had the opportunity to listen to insights, trends and strategies in addressing customer engagement, shopping experience, loyalty and retail disruptions from 22 speakers from the US, the UK, China, Japan, South Korea and Malaysia, who shared their experiences and expertise on how to keep up with changing customer shopping preferences and rapid digitalisation of the retail industry.

By delivering their deep retail insights and solutions, delegates could spearhead a re-think on retail and how to drive change through innovation, transformation and staying ahead of the pack for business success. APRCE 2017 also explored opportunities to capture the next decade of discerning digitalised customers to help retailers differentiate themselves from their competitors.

Speaking to Retail Asia, APRCE 2017’s organising chairman and MRA’s deputy president, James Loke, said that the association is very honoured to organise the event to provide a platform for networking and sharing of insights with local retailers: “Besides retailers, we also invited F&B and technology companies to share their knowledge to our delegates.”

Loke highlighted that technology plays a very important role in this millennium and he encouraged retailers to embrace it, adding that technology is critical to different areas of retail in terms of operational or business management, and even implementing loyalty programmes.

What do millennials want?

In his presentation on online payment disruption, Chan Kok Long, executive director and co-founder of iPay88 (an online payment gateway provider), echoed this sentiment: “I foresee the retail outlets will continue to evolve. Those who embrace technology will start to learn, experience and understand the millennial consumers.” As this group of consumers is set to increase  its purchasing power in years to come, it is imperative for retailers to understand the needs of millennial consumers.

The 18th APRCE 2017 also brought together participants to network and make meaningful connections with other industry professionals. Lau Wei Mun, senior manager, International Business

Unit, Peony Resources, an exhibitor at the event, said that the event was a good networking opportunity as she was able to meet retailers from other countries and to keep up with what’s happening in the industry. “I understand the next APRCE will be in China and I am interested to participate again, and perhaps meet more Chinese retailers there.”

Since 1983, APRCE has been the main activity of FAPRA, which has 18 association members from 18 countries, and it is the longest-running biennial retail conference in Asia-Pacific. The host country is selected by FAPRA members through a bidding process held every two years. The 17th APRCE 2015 was held in Manila, Philippines, while the 16th APRCE 2013 took place in Istanbul, Turkey. The 18th APRCE 2017 was the second time Malaysia has been chosen to host the convention which was held in Kuala Lumpur in 1995.