HOSTING THE SUCCESSFUL SEVENTH RETAIL FORUM

The Sri Lanka Retailers’ Association (SLRA), positioned as the apex body of organised retail in Sri Lanka, recently hosted the seventh Sri Lanka Retail Forum under the theme ‘Status of Retail in Sri Lanka and the Way Forward.’ The gathering was attended by chief guest and keynote speaker Duminda Hulangamuwa, the Chairman of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce and Country Managing Partner of Ernst & Young Sri Lanka.

The forum was opened by President of the Sri Lanka Retailers’ Association Charitha Subasinghe, who addressed the gathering about the local retail sector, its impact on the economy, employment and more. Subasinghe also spoke about the Sri Lanka Retailers’ Association and its history.

Chief guest Hulangamuwa then addressed the gathering, highlighting the impact of the retail trade on a variety of topics.

The next segment of the event featured three speakers – Director and Head of Kantar Sri Lanka Himalee Madurasinghe, President of Clootrack Sri Lanka, Maldives and Pakistan Dr. Rohantha Athukorala, and Founder and Senior Partner of Sensei International Omar Khan – each of whom covered several topics related to the Status of Retail in Sri Lanka and the Way Forward.

Following this session, Solution Associate of McKinsey & Company in Bangalore Siddarth Kalia addressed the audience about three interrelated topics that greatly impact the retail sectors. The topics included trends that impact retailers in Asia and around the world, how retailers and suppliers can collaborate, and various approaches to growth.

The next session of the event was a panel discussion, which featured a distinguished group of panellists including Supply Chain Director of Unilever Sri Lanka Damith Abeyratne, Vice President and Head of Merchant Sales at Visa for India and South Asia Rishi Chhabra, Managing Director of Nestlé Lanka Bernhard Stefan and Managing Director for Sri Lanka and Group Director Payments and Financial Services at Daraz Bart van Dijk.

This panel discussion was moderated by Crystal Nathan, the Chief Insights Officer of PepperCube Consultants.

The forum was then addressed by CEO of JB Securities Murtaza Jafferjee, who spoke about a framework of issues surrounding the local economy and engaged in a deep dive into what led to the economic crisis that is currently prevailing in Sri Lanka. Jafferjee provided great insights into economic reform and working smarter to increase productivity.

Immediately following Jafferjee, Director General and Chief Executive Officer of the Employers’ Federation of Ceylon Vajira Ellepola addressed the forum on the future of employment and the retail workforce on a global scale.

Another panel discussion took place following this, with distinguished panellists including Jafferjee, Ellepola, Director of Legal and Corporate Affairs at Colombo Port City Economic Commission Vindhya Weerasekera, and Non-Executive Director of Eswaran Brothers Tea Exporters Aruni Goonetilleke. This panel discussion was moderated by Advocata Institute CEO Dhananath Fernando.

The next session of the forum addressed the ‘tourism retail nexus.’ This session was led by Dileep Mudadeniya, the Senior Vice President of Global Alliances and Partnerships at John Keells Leisure, and Head of Corporate Affairs at John Keells Group.

Mudadeniya addressed the forum on the topics of retail tourism’s economic importance, current market landscape and environment, the segment from the perspective of tourists and sellers, factors that influence it, and retail tourism in Sri Lanka and its challenges.

This address was followed by the final panel discussion, which also featured a distinguished gathering of panellists including Mudadeniya, Center Director of One Galle Face Mall Sid Solanki, and Founder and Managing Director of CFW Ajai Vir Singh. The panel discussion was moderated by Co-Founder of Echelon Media Shamindra Kulamannage.

The forum was then graced by the presence of members of the Federation of Asia-Pacific Retailers Associations (FAPRA) including FAPRA Chairman Roy Nicholas Mandey, President of the Philippine Retailers Association Roberto Claudio, Presidential Advisor of the Malaysia Retailers Association James Loke and former President of the Sri Lanka Retailers’ Association Murali Prakash.

These members had previously attended the FAPRA Executive Committee meeting, which was held to make critical decisions for the future of the association. Mandey announced the results of the meeting, stating that Sri Lanka has been voted the host nation for the Asia Pacific Retailers Conference & Exhibition (APRCE) 2024 and Prakash has been appointed the Chairman of FAPRA from 2024 for a period of three years.

Claudio then addressed the importance of FAPRA to the retail sector across Asia.

The event concluded with Loke addressing the forum about FAPRA and APRCE, the impact they have had on the Malaysian retail sector and the impact that APRCE 2024 will have on Sri Lanka, its host nation next year.

– Compiled by Dona Senara
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