Roxas to lay out government plans for retail sector at int’l meet

Trade Secretary Manuel Roxas II will lay out government plans for the retail sector at the culmination of the three-day 10th National Retailers Conference and Stores Asia 2001 Expo, which starts Aug. 15 at the EDSA Shangri-La Hotel.

Roxas will address a multinational audience of retailers at 10 a.m. of Aug. 17, when he is expected to announce what the government is doing to boost the industry.

The event’s overall chairman Frederick D. Go said Roxas would also discuss what the Philippine Retailers Association (PRA) could expect from the government in the face of the global financial squeeze.

The national umbrella organization of the retail industry, the PRA is the organizer of both the conference and the expo, where SM Shoemart’s Teresita Sy-Coson will deliver the keynote address on Aug. 15.

Coson is expected to reveal SM’s secret in successfully weathering economic storms. She will also discuss the conference theme, "Power of Retailing," which is widely regarded as a major development catalyst, especially in the globalizing world economy.

Other local and foreign speakers are MasterCard International’s Esmond Chan who will talk on Retailers’ Best Practices: Credit Card Fraud Prevention; Arthur Andersen’s Stuart Bennie on Retailing: A Global Perspective; Davenport Campbell’s Aaron Hechtman and Andrew Gay on Effective Retail Planning and Store Design for Increased Profitability; Queena Lee-Chua on Professionalizing the Family Business; Unilever Phils on Efficient Consumer Response Towards Retailing Productivity; Guthrie Jensen on Hiring and Retaining the Right Talent/People; Angelica Suiza on The Power of Advertising; Oracle Phils. on Leveraging On-line Marketplaces for Retail Competitiveness; and Edsamail on New Media; among others.

Other details can be obtained from the PRA (tel. 6874180; 6874985; pager 127767030; or e-mail [email protected]

The conference is supported by GMA-7, Manila Bulletin, Ever Gotesco Malls, Robinson’s Malls, PLDT Cash Card, SM Shoemart, Oracle Phils., Hewlett Packard, IBM Phils., Sta. Lucia East Grand Mall, MacGraphics Carranz, Wave 89.1, KCFM 93.9, Montanara, Dupont Far East Inc., Johnson & Johnson, and Ayala Land.

The conference is also supported by Bench, Sportshouse, Goodwill Bookstore, Ads on Bags, All Visual Lights, LG Collins, Chase Pacific, Adman Resources, Coca Bottlers Phils. Inc., and Auto-ID.