World’s top department stores to meet in Colombo

Retail professionals from some of the world’s top department stores are due in Sri Lanka this month for a three-day conference that will generate valuable exposure for the country’s retail sector.

The 10th Commercial Director Conference of the Intercontinental Group of Department Stores (IGDS), the world’s largest association of department stores, is to be hosted in Colombo by ODEL, the only Sri Lankan member of this exclusive group. Representatives of IGDS member department stores will attend the event, which takes place from 27 to 29 February.

ODEL is one of the newest members of IGDS, having been conferred membership in January 2011.  Among the association’s members are some of the leading and most respected department stores in the world.

They include Selfridges, Saks 5th Avenue, Printemps, Parkson, Beco, FEDS, Shopper’s Stop, M&S, Woolworths, Central, Lotte, Matahari, Ruston, and Tangs.

 “The decision of IGDS to convene the annual IGDS Commercial Director Conference in Colombo exposes Sri Lanka to some of the largest retailers of the world and represents a significant opportunity for the country’s innovative home grown brands,” ODEL’s Founder and CEO Otara Gunewardene said. “It will facilitate the establishment of business links that could help these brands venture into overseas markets,” she added.

Gunwardene also said delegates to the conference would be looking out for suppliers of unique products that they can have in their stores. As the host of the 2012 conference, ODEL is considering offering a few select local brands an opportunity to make presentations at the event with the objective helping them to start trade links with the participating members, Ms Gunewardene added.

During the closed sessions of the conference, delegates will make and view presentations on a number of topics, including the IGDS Trading Platform, Assortment Planning, and e-commerce and its impact on merchandising.

Last year’s IGDS Commercial Director Conference Asia was hosted by Central Retail Corporation in Bangkok, Thailand. 

IGDS was founded in June 1946 in Lugano (Switzerland) by eight European Department Stores. The key drivers to create IGDS were the need to share expertise and to combine purchasing power. The organisation comprises of one of the most unique and vibrant retail networks in the industry: 33 members from 31 countries, with total sales of over US$ 60 billion. Membership is exclusively reserved to leading Department Stores worldwide and limited, normally, to one member per country/region. The admission of a new member is subject to the acceptance of a majority of existing members.

IGDS acts as a platform for interaction between CEOs, senior managers and specialists of member organisations, organises conferences and seminars on pressing issues; explores and supports synergies between members and collects and disseminates information on the latest industry practices.