18 January, 2020, Dhaka. To develop skills and knowledge within retail professionals, Bangladesh Brand Forum has organized Bangladesh Retail Congress 2020. Around 300 professionals attended the congress which took place at the Grand Ballroom of Hotel Le Méridien, Dhaka. This year, Bangladesh Retail Congress was presented by Shwapno and powered by Apex. The theme of the initiative for this year was “The Future of Retail”.
Eminent corporate personalities from and beyond the boundary were brought together to discuss on insightful issues. There were 3 Keynote sessions, 4 Panel discussions, 3 Insight Sessions & 3 Case Study Presentations.
Mr. Shah Md. Rijvi Rony, Head of Human Resource, ACI Logistics Ltd. (Shwapno) delivered the inauguration speech of the congress. Also spoke on the occasion Mr. Shariful Islam, Founder & Managing Director, Bangladesh Brand Forum. He stressed,” future of retail is about disruption and Innovation. The retail sector needs to embrace the disruption and redesign the entire sector.”
The panel discussion sessions, case studies and insight sessions were conducted on the following topics “Seismic Shift in Retail”, “The Future of Virtual Retail”, “Disruption of Payment System at Retails”, “Customer Experience is the Game Changer in Retail” Topics for the Insight Sessions were – The Deligram way of delivering goods, Turning footfalls into dollars and Future Challenges of Retail Marketing in Bangladesh. The topic for the Case Studies were – The Changing Retail Landscape in Bangladesh – A Micro-Merchant Perspective, Effective Use of Customer Loyalty Program and The Emergence of Chef’s Table.
Renowned professionals who presented keynote sessions were – Hemant Mehta, Managing Director, Kantar, & Chief Strategy Officer, Kantar South Asia; Manukrishna Nair, Development Director, Fitch India; and Pulak Chowdhury, Business Head, Multi Brand Channel, Puma Group.
The discussants of the summit were – Ashraf Bin Taj, Managing Director, International Distribution Company (Pvt.) Ltd. and President, Marketing Society of Bangladesh (MSB); Sabbir Hasan Nasir, Executive Director, ACI Logistics Ltd. (Shwapno); Rezaul Kabir, Chief Operating Officer, Sailor (Epyllion Group); Rajan Pillai, Chief Executive Office, Apex Footwear Limited; Tanvir Haider Chaudhury, Chief Executive Officer, Kazi Foods Industries Ltd.; Zeeshan Kingshuk Huq, Co-Founder & CEO, Sindabad.com; Morin Talukder, Chief Executive Officer, Pickaboo.com; A.K.M. Fahim Mashroor, Founder, Ajkerdeal.com, Co-Founder & CEO, Bdjobs.com; Mirajul Huq, Chief Executive Officer, Bagdoom.com; Sumbal Momen, Director, Pride Group; Nazmul Karim Chowdhury, Executive Vice President, Head of Brand & Communications, Prime Bank Limited; Sonia Bashir Kabir, Co-Founder & Vice Chairman, Dmoney Bangladesh Ltd.; Syed Mohammad Kamal, Country Manager, Mastercard; AKM Moinul Islam Moin, COO (Culinary, Noodles, Frozen, Confectionary Business), PRAN-RFL Group; Mizanur Rashid, Chief Commercial Officer, bKash Limited; Mohammad Rashed, Joint Director, Bangladesh Bank, and Certified Digital Finance Practitioner (CDFP); Dr. Mohammad Baktiar Rana, Associate Professor, IBA, Jahangirnagar University; Md. Quamrul Hassan, Business Director, ACI Limited; A.F.M. Asif, Chief Executive Officer, Bengal Meat Processing Industries Ltd.; Firoj Alam, Deputy Executive Director, PR, Media & Branding (Marketing), Walton Hi-Tech industries Ltd.; Sabbir Ahmed, Managing Director & Country Head of Retail Banking, Standard Chartered Bangladesh; Waiz Rahim, Founder & CEO, Deligram; Munaf Mojib Chowdhury, Director, Client Leadership, ADA – Analytics · Data · Advertising, Bangladesh; G. M. Kamrul Hassan, Group CEO, Igloo Ice Cream, Food & Dairy Ltd.; Md. Ashraful Alam, Country Project Coordinator, SHIFT-SAARC, UNCDF, The Secretariat of DFCG; Reefatul Karim, CRM & E-Commerce, Apex Footwear Limited; Faterma Fahmida, CRM & E-Commerce, Apex Footwear Limited; Murtoza Zaman, Chef’s Table, CEO, Unimart Holding;
4th Bangladesh Retail Congress was an initiative of Bangladesh Brand Forum. The title partner of the event is Shwapno and is powered by Apex, organized in association with Lotto; supported by Walton Smart Fridge, Unimart; Event Partner – Le Meridien Dhaka; Strategic Partner – The Daily Star; Knowledge Partner – MSB; Lifestyle Partner – Advanced Development Technologies; Technology Partner – Aamra Technologies; Media Partner – Ekattor TV; Digital Partner – Applied Business Initiatives (ABI) and PR Partner – Backpage PR.
