ETP International and its UAE business partner, Barcode Gulf held their first Retail NEXT in Dubai on 28 November 2007 at the Dusit Dubai hotel. The conference drew more than 70 retailers within the GCC region for the half day session.

Speakers presenting at the conference include Mr Arif Shaikh, Business Director of BMA International, Ms Ermin Sevil, Head of Retail Business for Nielsen, Mr Ram Mohan Nair, IT Director of MAF Fashion (Majid Al Futtaim) and Mr Rajkumar Jagasia, Executive Director of ETP International.
Mr. Arik Shaikh portrayed the changes brought by the passage of time in the Middle East, depicting the evolution of retail in the UAE. He also shared with the audience BMA’s business strategy of staying competitive and relevant in the changing retail environment. He explained how BMA has evolved from an owner-run retail company to a professionally run one, as well as a traditional retail business to the modern retail format. He unveiled their new strategy for growth through the launch of the “Red Tag” stores.
Mr. Rajkumar Jagasia of ETP captivated the audience’s attention with his presentation on how retailers can leverage on technology to build a proactive retail organization. Case studies of ETP customers were shared with the audience, on how they had fully capitalized on the use of technology and business information to build a proactive retail organization. He highlighted the business and process efficiencies that can be better managed with the right tools.

The third speaker Ms. Ermin Sevil shared with the audience the changes in global trends and how they will impact the Middle East. Statistics and trend analysis were shown to the audience on the growing sectors and markets.

The final session by Mr. Ram Mohan Nair gave a fascinating account from a franchisor perspective of the many challenges a franchisor organization faces in its business processes and information management systems. He described the best practices and the wish list for a singular comprehensive retail solution that will enable retailers to manage the needs of the day as well as prepare for the changes the future holds.

A networking luncheon was organised after the half-day conference in which delegates had the opportunity to mingle and speak in private with the speakers.

26 February 2006 – The inaugural Retail ME Awards was held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates on 26 February 2006. 14 awards were given out to regional retailers to recognize their work and contributions made to the retailing industry in U.A.E. The ETP Middle East team together with 500 retailers and guests were on hand to lend success to the awards show.

Organised by Concept Media – Publisher of RetailME, this was the first event of its kind in the Emirate and was held under the patronage of Her Excellency Sheikha Lubna Bint Khaled Al Qasimi, UAE Minister of Economy. Result of the awards was audited by Ernst & Young.
“The RetailME Awards were introduced in the magazine’s ongoing pursuit to becoming an invaluable resource to retailers and suppliers from the retail trade,” said Pierre Pereira, Managing Director, Concept Media – Publisher of RetailME.

“We are pleased to be able to lend support to the event. With our regional office located in Dubai, it is important that we are supportive and be part of the retail-related initiatives launched here. The Middle East retailing industry deserves an awards show of this caliber as the retailers have shown superior capabilities to grow and capture market share. Such events will provide a platform for the good work of retailers to be recognised and to spur the industry to outdo itself year after year. We look forward to the show next year,” said Mr Naresh Ahuja, Chairman, ETP International.

ETP International’s Dubai office started operations since 2005 and has recently moved into BO-7, Suite # 26, Dubai Internet City, P.O Box : 121949, Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The ETP Middle East team comprises of S.Krishnaswamy, Regional Sales Director, who oversees the operations and he is supported by Arun Jagtiani, Regional Business Manager.

About ETP International Pte Ltd

ETP International is an enterprise software company focused on enabling retailers to run their business proactively using the cutting-edge ETP V5 Retail Solution. Founded in 1988 ETP has its International HQ in Singapore, R&D centre in Mumbai and a network of partners in over 20 countries, selling, implementing and supporting ETP solutions. ETP’s three digit growth is driven by the wide acceptance of its flagship product ETP V5 by leading retailers.
ETP V5 is a 4th generation solution designed to help retailers move from a push based business model to a push-pull based business model, making them more proactive in planning, execution, analysis and decision making. It is seamlessly integrated through POS, CRM, Online Sales, Call Centre Sales, Merchandise Planning, Promotions Planning, Procurement, Distribution, Warehousing and Analytics. Developed with reliability, scalability and globalisation in mind, ETP V5 is capable of handling multiple languages, time zones, currencies, taxes, company and group structures, 20 users to 1000’s of users, various hardware platforms and operating systems and can be implemented comprehensively or modularly.

The three-day exhibition attracted visitors from all over the Middle East. It showcased a wide range of store design, shop fittings/equipment, retail signage, retail IT and communication, visual merchandising, POP, and retail franchising opportunities for the Middle East retail industry.

The ETP V5.2 covers all the key functionalities required by retail and distribution companies. The integrated solution provides retailers and distributors the power to monitor and refine business strategies in response to the business dynamics instantly, effecting these changes in operations seamlessly without affecting day-to-day operations. The components within ETP V5.2 can be used comprehensively or selectively to provide an end-to-end integrated solution for retailers and distributors.

The components within ETP V5.2 are:

Leading Retailers In India Attend Seminar On The World’s Top 200 Retailers – Insights and Lessons for India Retailers

A seminar series sponsored by ETP & Deloitte

18th April 2006 – ETP International and Deloitte sponsored a series of seminars, The World’s Top 200 Retailers – Insights and Lessons for India Retailers, which were held in Mumbai and New Delhi in April 2006. Keynote speaker Dr Ira Kalish, Director, Consumer Research from Deloitte shared with more than 100 Indian retailers on the insights, experience, ideas and lessons learnt from major retailers across the world.
The by-invitation seminars moderated by Mr Steven Goh, Executive Chairman of Retail Asia, addressed the strategic and tactical perspectives of achievements and pitfalls in retailing among the World’s Top 200 retailers. Dr Kalish also addressed the challenges and opportunities facing India’s retailers – managing rapid industry growth; migrating to organised retailing; coping with local and foreign competition; responding to new socio-economic realities and consumer demands; and more.

Dr Ira Kalish is an expert on global economic issues as well as the effects of economic, demographic, and social trends on the global retailing and consumer products industries. Dr. Kalish conducts research on global consumer issues and has authored in-depth reports on consumer business in Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Southeast Asia, China, Japan, Mexico and South America. In addition, he has authored more than 120 articles and reports on economic and retail trends in the U.S. and around the world.

“ETP’s involvement in such events is not just about closing another business deal. We are committed to working with the local retail industry in developing the retailing landscape in India. We will continue to work with leading retail authorities and experts, to perpetuate the knowledge through events like these and other efficient means of communications,” said Naresh Ahuja, Chairman, ETP International.
The seminars were well-received by invited guests with requests for future invitations. ETP will continue to explore more avenues to enhance its contribution to the retail industry as a whole.

About ETP International Pte Ltd

ETP International is an enterprise software company focused on enabling retailers to run their business proactively using the cutting-edge ETP V5 Retail Solution. Founded in 1988 ETP has its International HQ in Singapore, R&D centre in Mumbai and a network of partners in over 20 countries, selling, implementing and supporting ETP solutions. ETP’s three digit growth is driven by the wide acceptance of its flagship product ETP V5 by leading retailers.
ETP V5 is a 4th generation solution designed to help retailers move from a push based business model to a push-pull based business model, making them more proactive in planning, execution, analysis and decision making. It is seamlessly integrated through POS, CRM, Online Sales, Call Centre Sales, Merchandise Planning, Promotions Planning, Procurement, Distribution, Warehousing and Analytics. Developed with reliability, scalability and globalisation in mind, ETP V5 is capable of handling multiple languages, time zones, currencies, taxes, company and group structures, 20 users to 1000’s of users, various hardware platforms and operating systems and can be implemented comprehensively or modularly.

24 August 2006 – Retail NEXT conference which was held on 23 August 2006 in JW Marriott, Bangkok, Thailand drew close to 100 senior representatives in retail conglomerates within Asia, Middle East and India. The one day by-invitation only event was jointly organised by ETP International, an international retail solutions company and its Premier Business Partner in Thailand, 4Bizinet Co., Ltd and co-sponsored by IBM of which ETP International is a PWIN Premier member.

The conference started with a welcome address by Mr Naresh Ahuja, Chairman of ETP International. He explained the need for an industry event that can provide an exchange platform for retail industry practitioners and analysts. There is a gap and ETP International as an active participant in the retail industry would like to take the initiative to provide that platform.
The conference programme had a strong representation from leading retailers presenting case studies on their organisations as well as expert knowledge sessions from industry analysts. Senior representation as speakers came from IBM, Euromonitor International, ITC Ltd – a US$3 billion retail conglomerate in India, Titan – a subsidiary of Tata Group and India’s leading watch retail chain, Minor Corporation – one of Thailand’s leading multi-brand retail giant and others.

The conference agenda covered a broad spectrum of trends and issues facing the retail industry. Topics include retail trends, understanding consumer behaviour, future customer-centric store concepts, information management, brand building and much more.

The panel discussion comprising all the speakers for the day saw a lively discussion on the current and future retail landscape as well as points for consideration in retail expansion plans. Active audience participation also saw delegates raising questions on various concerns ranging from technology adoption to future of symbiotic relationships between retailers and vendors.

Commenting on the needs and the challenges facing retailers today, Mr Niwat Lekklai, Managing Director, 4Bizinet Co., Ltd stated, “Currently, the retail industry is growing dramatically, especially in Thailand. Information is one of the key factors to support retail business growth. It can be used to improve business strategy and customer service. Although information can be found everywhere, actual and real-time information is difficult to sieve out. Therefore, selecting the right information is a very important result to business owners for making decisio ns.”

“We are pleasantly surprised by the turnout for the event as it far exceeds our expectations. The support from the retailer industry has been very encouraging. This clearly reflects the industry is in need of events along the lines of Retail NEXT to facilitate knowledge exchange. We plan to be one of the key forces in providing this platform hence plans are underway to make Retail NEXT an annual anchor event in most countries in Asia and the Middle East. Thailand’s retail industry is growing and its predicted to grow by 8% in the next 5 years. The need for more robust information management systems, knowledge of best-of-breed retail management practices, versatility in adapting to change among others is key to the survival of retailers,” remarked Mr Naresh Ahuja, Chairman, ETP International Pte Ltd.

The conference closed with a gift presentation ceremony by Mr Ahuja to all the speakers. Each delegate left the conference with the knowledge takeaways as well as an attractive door gift and conference proceedings from the organisers.

About 4Bizinet Co., Ltd

4Bizinet is a leading professional IT service and software solutions provider offering complete end-to-end solutions to its customers. Over five years of its establishment, 4Bizinet has built its business and domain expertise in several industries including Retail, Telco, Banking and Finance. 4Bizinet’s products and services include various Enterprise business software applications and complete professional services. 4Bizinet has a business belief that its success can only come when it help customers to overcome their businesses challenges. By engaging its strategic partnership with global and internal technology leaders such as Microsoft, IBM, ETP International and SourceCode Technology Holding, 4Bizinet delivers its customers the most reliable, a scalable and robust solution available in the market today.

www.4bizinet.com

About ETP International Pte Ltd
ETP International is an enterprise software company focused on enabling retailers to run their business proactively using the cutting-edge ETP V5 Retail Solution. Founded in 1988 ETP has its International HQ in Singapore, R&D centre in Mumbai and a network of partners in over 12 countries, selling, implementing and supporting ETP solutions. ETP’s three digit growth is driven by the wide acceptance of its flagship product ETP V5 by leading retailers.

ETP V5 is a 4th generation solution designed to help retailers move from a push based business model to a push-pull based business model, making them more proactive in planning, execution, analysis and decision making. It is seamlessly integrated through POS, CRM, Online Sales, Call Centre Sales, Merchandise Planning, Promotions Planning, Procurement, Distribution, Warehousing and Analytics. Developed with reliability, scalability and globalisation in mind, ETP V5 is capable of handling multiple languages, time zones, currencies, taxes, company and group structures, 20 users to 1000’s of users, various hardware platforms and operating systems and can be implemented comprehensively or modularly.