CapitaMalls Asia unveils debut Singapore Retail Global Connexion

The event to highlight successful retailers as it aims to inspire other retailers and students, to spur the development of the retail industry.

CapitaMalls Asia Limited is pleased to launch on Wednesday the inaugural Retail Global Connexion – an annual forum featuring top retailers from around the world and their success stories on how they have overcome challenges with creativity and innovation, to become the best in their fields.

To be held at the Raffles City Convention Centre this morning, the forum will be attended by more than 1,000 participants, including over 500 top international and regional retailers and local tertiary students. Mr S. Iswaran, Minister, Prime Minister’s Office and Second Minister for Home Affairs and Trade & Industry, will be the guest-of-honour.

The forum will feature successful international retailers such as Mr Manel Adell, CEO of Desigual (Spain); Mr Hirotake Yano, President of Daiso (Japan); Ms Hong Li, Chairman & CEO of Country Style Cooking (China); as well as Singapore retailers Ms Lyn Lee, founder of Awfully Chocolate; Mr Richard Eu, Group CEO of Eu Yan Sang International; Mr Jeric See, founder of Jeric Salon; and Mr Peter Lim, President of Soo Kee Jewellery.

Mr Adell will reveal how he grew Desigual 50-fold in just eight years, while Mr Yano will speak about how he grew Daiso from a street vendor selling 100-yen (S$1.70) products to become the largest chain of 100-yen shops in Japan, and with over 3,000 stores worldwide today. Ms Li will share how she turned Chinese food into a fast-food concept that grew into a restaurant chain that served more than 60 million customers last year, and became the first Chinese food and beverage enterprise to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

Ms Lee will share why she swopped her lawyer’s robes for an apron and defied conventional retail wisdom by selling only one product – a chocolate cake – without a single cake on display in her all-white shop. Mr Eu will speak about how he re-positioned Eu Yan Sang as a progressive, global healthcare company with a strong foundation in traditional Chinese medicine. Mr See will reveal why celebrities go to him to style their hair, while Mr Lim will share how he goes about ensuring Soo Kee Jewellery has the best prices, according to a CapitaMalls Asia report.

Mr Liew Mun Leong, Chairman of CapitaMalls Asia said: “As the leading shopping mall developer, owner and manager with 96 malls in 51 cities in Singapore, China, Malaysia, Japan and India, we see our role as different from a residential developer providing just a roof over people’s heads. We provide people with shopping malls where people can realise their dreams and aspirations. This will propel society to work hard to achieve success, in order to realize their dreams. In other words, a shopping mall is more than just a building, but a symbol of the aspirations of the community that it serves.”

“The people who help make a mall successful are the retailers, whom we are happy to showcase today. Retailers who operate in multiple locations have to cater to shoppers’ different tastes in various regions and countries, and always stay on top of production and logistical efficiency to ensure their products get delivered to their stores. We are therefore pleased to launch the inaugural Retail Global Connexion to showcase successful retailers, to inspire other retailers and students and spur the development of the retail industry.”

Mr Lim Beng Chee, CEO of CapitaMalls Asia, said: “The Retail Global Connexion is one example of how CapitaMalls Asia partners our retailers. We are pleased to organise this forum for successful retailers to share how they overcame challenges and channelled their passion into producing the excellent products and services that they provide today. It also gives us pride that our Singapore retailers are able to share the secrets of their success alongside the established international retailers we have here today.”

“Through such forums, we hope to provide our retailers with another platform to showcase themselves and increase their opportunities to meet new investors, business partners, including franchisees, and potential employees. We will continue to explore ways to add value to our retailers and help them grow and expand in the region, as their success is fundamental to the long-term success of CapitaMalls Asia.”