Anson Bailey, Head of Consumer & Retail ASPAC for KPMG, will join APTRA’s ‘Summer in the City’ evening event in August.

Asia Pacific Travel Retail Association (APTRA) has announced that KPMG Head of Consumer & Retail ASPAC Anson Bailey will join the association’s ‘Summer in the City’ evening event in Hong Kong on 21 August.

Bailey, a popular and highly respected figure in travel retail circles, will deliver a presentation titled ‘The future of seamless commerce in Asia Pacific’ in which he will unbox key learnings from a new report published by KPMG this month.

The KPMG report considers a new era for retail, guided by an end to the differentiation between online and offline, with greater integration across the customer journey that is driving advancements in the sector.

His address will be timely, given the shift towards more seamless, consumer-centric commercial strategies being adopted across by consumers and businesses alike across different markets and geographies.

Sunil Tuli, President of APTRA and Group CEO, King Power Group (Hong Kong) said: “Anson is a long-term and generous supporter of APTRA and his presentations are always packed with valuable insights delivered with his signature style of translating data via humorous story-telling into highly relatable learnings. We are very grateful to him for giving his time.”

Bailey added: “The consumer expectation is that social media, delivery innovations, apps, websites, automated messaging, and other digital interactions seamlessly integrate with traditional brick-and-mortar stores. Retailers must stay agile and flexible to stay relevant, especially to tech-savvy Gen Z who expect retailers to be on the ball.”

Tickets for the APTRA Summer in the City event cost US$100 to cover costs, in keeping with the association’s not-for-profit status. Contact [email protected] for further information.

Entry is open to all APTRA members and the wider travel retail industry, with Pernod Ricard supporting the evening with champagne and cocktails.