Retail conference parades global experts as speakers

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Retailers Association (PRA) has lined up a roster of local and foreign experts in multiple fields for this year’s National Retail Conference and Stores Asia Expo (NRCE) to help industry players and suppliers learn practical and updated strategies.

Rosemarie Bosch Ong, PRA president and SEVP and COO of Wilcon Depot, said this makes the 26th NRCE slated on Aug. 15 and 16 at the SMX Convention Center Manila a must-attend event for retailers.

 “We are proud and excited to present NRCE to the retail industry this year, as we have prepared an interesting roster of speakers composed of experts from the market research, retail, and technology and innovation among others. Side-by-side the conference, is its twin activity—the Stores Asia Expo which features the relevant and innovative retail suppliers,” Ong noted.

She added: “NRCE is not just a conference or expo. It is a venue where the top retailers and the retail suppliers converge to learn practical and updated strategies to improve their business and at the same time collaborate and create a lasting partnership.”

Ong said some of the speakers to watch out for are: technology evangelist and former Inditex managing director (Spain) Jesus Vega, US-certified neuroscience coach Ben Ampil, and speakers from top market research and trends forecasting companies WGSN, Tofugear and Mintel.

 “We also have interesting panel discussions with next generation leaders like Cristalle Belo-Pitt of Belo Essentials and Toby Claudio of Toby’s Sports and influencers to include Joyce Pring and Jako de Leon; among others. At the breakout session, we have special tracks on supermarket and digital transformation to help retailers in these niches learn the newest trends and updates,” she said.

 She stressed that even employees and sales associates should attend the NRCE to gain tools that help them as they progress in their career in the retail industry. “We should always engage and provide them opportunities for growth and development. That’s why we continually send to attend various conventions for them to hear and learn from the experts and gain new knowledge that they can apply to grow their careers.”