SINGAPORE. Dr Mahathir bin Mohamad, former Prime Minister of Malaysia, has been named the keynote speaker at the TFWA Asia Pacific Conference in the Marina Bay Sands Expo & Convention Center on 13 May.
Themed “˜Striving for Perfection’, the conference will explore how new approaches in key areas of retail are enabling operators and brands to engage the travelling consumer more effectively.
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Dr Mahathir bin Mohamad |
Dr Mahathir bin Mohamad will discuss the challenges he overcame while helping to position Malaysia as a leading economy in Southeast Asia. He will assess the geopolitical challenges ahead for Asian economies in what is described as a “multi-polar world”.
His presentation will follow a state of the industry address by TFWA President Erik Juul-Mortensen, who will explore how the Asia Pacific market has evolved into the industry leader and analyse how changes to customer behaviour will shape its future.
Diageo President Asia Pacific Gilbert Ghostine will provide a perspective from the world’s leading premium drinks company and owner of some of duty free and travel retail’s biggest brands. He will summarise the keys to successful brand-building in an increasingly sophisticated and competitive marketplace, and analyse the role of duty free and travel retail in marketing premium brands to today’s consumer.
The final speaker in the morning plenary will be China National Economic Research Institute Director and China Reform Foundation Chairman Dr Fan Gang. One of China’s leading economists, Dr Fan Gang will assess how the recent leadership changes in China will influence the country’s future direction. As part of his analysis he will look at future demand for luxury goods among Chinese shoppers, and at the influence of exchange rates on consumer trends.
Delegates will be able to choose one of two workshops which follow the plenary session:
• “˜Workshop A – Perfect Journey’ on how store design, terminal layout, retail branding and better communication can ensure retail is an essential component of the traveller’s journey;
• “˜Workshop B – Perfect Pitch’ on how an integrated approach to product assortment, layout, display and merchandising between different stakeholders can enhance the retail proposition for the customer.
The TFWA Industry Association Working Lunch will offer invited delegates the opportunity to discuss regulatory and other issues facing the industry in Asia Pacific and beyond.
All other conference delegates will be invited to a Business Networking Lunch at the conference venue.
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(Left) Diageo President Asia Pacific Gilbert Ghostine will summarise the keys to successful brand-building; (Right) Dr Fan Gang, one of China’s leading economists, will look at future demand for luxury goods among Chinese shoppers | |
The afternoon will kick off with a choice of two topical workshops:
• “˜Workshop C – e-Perfect’ on the rich marketing opportunities that the latest digital and social media represent to premium brands and the retailers who sell them;
• “˜Workshop D – Perfection Personified’ will add the essential element of the “˜human touch’ to the retail mix and explore how fresh approaches to staff training and human resources programmes are ensuring that the industry’s ambassadors on the shop floor or inflight have the tools not just to serve each customer effectively, but to ensure that customer comes back and spends again.
The closing plenary following the afternoon workshops will draw out the conclusions of the day and will broach the topic of “˜New Consumers, New Challenges’ focusing on two recent studies into the travelling consumer. More details to follow.
The three-day TFWA Asia Pacific Exhibition will open at 9.30am on Tuesday 14 May.
Pre-registration for the TFWA Asia Pacific Conference & Exhibition is now open at www.tfwa.com.
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