The future of retail in Asia: insights from Aeon, NTUC FairPrice and SPAR
Low Lai Chow
"Retail used to be slow-moving and relatively boring," Jerry Black, senior executive vice president and chief strategy officer of Aeon, Asia's largest retailer, confessed to delegates at the World Retail Congress Asia Pacific 2014. "But now we're in a fantastic age of excitement."
With this heightened excitement, he admitted, comes an attendant challenge. "My challenge today is to address the future of retail, and how to address different consumers and their lifestyles. The changes are truly dynamic."
Until 2010, according to Black, Asian consumers...