The Retail Industry is a key service industry in Hong Kong and it currently employs more than 256,000 retail staff and amounts to more than 489,000 staff if accounting with catering service. As a major service industry of Hong Kong, our Association believes that skills upgrading and in raising the status and professionalism of retail practitioners is vital to the long-term competitiveness of the industry, and in projecting the right image as Asia’s premiere financial and services center and shoppers paradise. In essence, quality people equipped with the right skills is a fundamental core factor for the success of any retailer.

The HKRMA therefore has embarked on collaborations with training professionals and institutions to offer professional training for our retail staff, to upgrade their skills so as to ensure that Hong Kong’s retailers compete effectively with other countries by delivering world-class standards.

It is hoped that more & more training opportunities could be offered and made available to all levels of retail staff within the retail industry. This will improve the overall professionalism of the industry and the quality of the people engaged in the profession.

The Association currently organizes various retail workshops, seminars and award programmes. We also hold regular luncheon/dinners, seminars forums and conferences all targeting subjects and topics of interest to retailers. Details could be found in the different sections of this column as well as under Programs/Activities.