31 August 2017 12:00 am
By Supun Dias
The Sri Lanka Retailers’ Association will organize its premier event, Sri Lanka Retail Forum 2017 under the theme ‘Winning the New Consumer – Energizing Retail’ which will be held at the Cinnamon Grand Colombo on 13th September.
Vice President of Sri Lanka Retailers’ Association Sidath Kodikara said that the key objectives of the forum are to provide cutting-edge insights on global retail trends for Sri Lankan retailers and for them to learn from best practices of industry leaders and get inspired to adapt and adopt locally.
“If you take the year 2015 the total retail sales volume in Sri Lanka was US$ 31 billion and in 2016 it was US$ 30 billion, so we have a tremendous potential as the only country in the region which has lasting peace which is very important to attract investments,” he said.
The forum will also help the participants to identify key turning points that Sri Lankan retailers must latch on to and key pain points that need to be tackled and it will be a great opportunity for networking and collaboration in the retail industry. The forum aspires to become a regionally recognised retail forum and it will be an annual event.
Vice President of Sri Lanka Retailers’ Association Murali Prakash said that they are expecting more than 300 participants this time.
“We also can see how Colombo is developing with new shopping malls and department stores that is why we say that the retail sector has a tremendous potential when you look at the future whilst offering millions of jobs on the other hand.”
Speaking about the association President Hussain Sadique said, “As an association which is less than two years old we have done many things like we organized the Colombo Christmas Street last year and we are planning a similar event called Sri Lanka Shopping Festival around October/November.”
The Sri Lanka Retailers’ Association (SLRA) was founded in 2015 and was incorporated as a Company Limited by Guarantee in June 2016. This Association aims to harness the resources of the Organized Retail industry to a common platform in order to promote growth, innovation and global outreach. SLRA currently represents 9 sectors in the retail industry namely FMCG; clothing, fashion and jewelry; shelter and housing; household and consumer durables; footwear and accessories; e-commerce; mobility; entertainment and healthcare and wellness.
The SLRA operates under the aegis of Ceylon Chamber of Commerce.