SPEECH BY MR LEE YI SHYAN, SENIOR MINISTER OF STATE, MINISTRY OF TRADE AND INDUSTRY AND MINISTRY OF NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT, AT THE SIGNING OF THE JOINT MOU BETWEEN EDB, SPRING SINGAPORE AND DFS VENTURE SINGAPORE, 16 AUGUST 2013, 6:15 PM AT DFS SCOTTSWALK GALLERIA SINGAPORE
Mr.Michael Shriver, Chief Operating Officer of DFS Group Limited
Distinguished guests
Ladies and gentlemen
1. Good afternoon. Thank you for inviting me to this happy occasion to witness the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding to establish a Retail Centre of Excellence (CoE). This private-public sector partnership represents a commendable initative by DFS, EDB and SPRING in building retail capability of the industry.
CAPTURING THE GROWTH OF GLOBAL TRAVEL RETAIL IN ASIA
2. As Asia’s middle class grows, its spending will soon account for 59% of global middle class spending[1]. Asia Pacific is also the largest and fastest growing region for the global travel retail industry, outperforming Europe for the first time in 2011[2]. It is estimated that by 2020, two out of every five travellers will be Asian, and they will account for nearly half of global tourism expenditure. Given that 75% of Singapore’s visitors come from Asia, Singapore is well-positioned to capture this growing market segment.
DFS’ RETAIL CoE STRENGTHENS SINGAPORE’S RETAIL CAPABILITIES
3. According to a Bain & Company report, a company’s ability to deliver a world-class retail and shopper experience[3] will be key to winning in the luxury market. Therefore, the proposed DFS Retail CoE – the first of its kind established by a retailer in Singapore – is a timely initiative to help our industry build new capacity in our sales staff, raise their product knowledge, improve their service delivery, promote innovations and develop best practices.
4. Analytics capabilities will be critical in helping retailers better understand their customers. The Retail CoE’s work in this area will help DFS develop Pan-Asian consumer insights, which in turn will lead to innovative retail concepts that are test-bedded in Singapore. These efforts will help shape DFS’ regional branding and marketing strategies, and create a truly personalised shopping experience for its stores in Singapore, Asia and beyond.
5. Investing in human resources will help our retail business achieve sustainable growth. In this respect, I am pleased to learn that DFS has won the award for Best People Practices from the Singapore Service Excellence Medallion this year, and achieved top placing on Customer Satisfaction Index of Singapore in the “department stores category” for four years running. Through the Retail CoE, DFS can further consolidate their achievements and share their best practices with local SME retailers, thus helping to raise the bar for the entire industry skills and standards.
CONCLUSION
6. I would like to commend EDB, SPRING and DFS for coming together in partnership to undertake this excellent initiative. I look forward to the Center’s successful implementation. Thank you.
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