Page 4 - Retailers2013Winter_SP_low

Retail industry image building

The retail industry in general does not seem to project a favourable image. • Youngsters generally regard retail posts as temporary jobs to get quick •

cash and do not plan to stay on in the trade. They also think that working conditions are poor in the retail trade. For example, staff are required to stand for a long time with few breaks. The Government should take initiative and join hands with the trade in •

promoting a positive image of the industry as a whole to the public.

Apart from the manpower shortage, the whole Hong Kong labour market is also facing a challenge regarding the labour supply in the long run. To address the issue, the Chief Secretary, Mrs. Carrie Lam, launched a four-month public consultation in order to collect views in formulating long-term population policy for Hong Kong.

As the retail industry is a people-oriented business and human capital is the key to our continued success, the Association is now soliciting views and suggestions from our members and will submit a paper to the Steering Committee by the end of the consultation period.

Moreover, the Government carried out a public consultation on the municipal solid waste-charging scheme. The Association supports the initiative of reducing solid waste. However, we are of the view that the Government should impose the charge, if any, to both the household and commercial and industrial sectors at the same time to maintain fairness, and the fees of the scheme should be kept at a reasonable and affordable level while the scheme should remain as simple as possible to ensure business operation efficiency. The Association expressed its views to the Government during the consultation period.

After looking at the policies, let's turn to last year's major events for the Association. As the finale to our 30 th Anniversary year-round celebration, the Anniver sar y Bal l cum Retai l Awards Presentat ion Ceremony was successfully held on 5 December, 2013 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre with over 1,400 guests attending. In this special occasion, the Association awarded the title of Honorary Fellow to three distinguished figures of our trade: Mr. Daniel Koo, our Founding Chairman; Mrs. Selina Chow, the first Legislative Councilor representing the Wholesale and Retail Functional Constituency from 1995 to 2004; and Mr. Vincent Fang, the Legislative Councilor representing the Wholesale and Retail Functional Constituency since 2004. Their dedication helped the trade persevere through difficult times and facilitate communications between the trade and the Government.

We are greatly honoured to have had Mr. John Tsang, the Financial Secretary, as our Guest of Honour. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Mr. Tsang for addressing the Anniversary Ball and presenting the trophies to our Honorary Fellows. Also, I would like to express my sincere thanks to our event and prize sponsors, guests and participating members for making our Anniversary Ball a success.

To ensure the sustainable development of the Association, we launched the Individual Associate Membership (IAM) in November 2013 with a view to nurturing future leaders for the trade and provide a networking platform among peers of the trade. For details on the applications and benefits of IAM, members can visit the designated webpage under the Membership section of the Association's website.

We sincerely encourage fellow retailers to join us as an associate member to enjoy the many benefits to be offered, including networking connections with CEOs and many training opportunities.

To conclude, 2013 has been an exciting and eventful year for the Association. In celebration of our 30 th anniversary, a series of initiatives and activities were rolled out during the year. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all members for your generous support in making the Association's 30 th anniversary a special and memorable one. We count on your continued support in the years ahead to become bigger and stronger in order to serve our members and the retail trade even better.

The Year of Horse is approaching, may I wish you all a prosperous year with good health and good wealth!

為零售業建立形象

整體而言，零售業的形象並不理想。 •

年青人普遍視零售工作為臨時工，旨在賺取 •

外快，無意投身行業。他們也認為零售業的 工作環境欠佳，例如員工需要長時間站立， 休息時間亦少。

政府應採取措施及與業界合作，向市民推廣 •

業界的正面形象。

人手短缺的問題不但困擾業界，香港勞動市場亦 面對長遠人手供應的問題。為此，政務司司長林 鄭月娥女士展開為期四個月的公眾諮詢，就制定 本港長遠人口政策收集意見。

零售業向來以人為本，人力資本是我們持續成功 的關鍵。協會現正收集會員的意見及建議，並將 於諮詢期內向督導委員會提交文件。

另外，政府已就都市固體廢物收費計劃展開公眾 諮詢，協會支持有關措施，但認為政府應同時向 住戶及工商界徵費，確保一視同仁，而計劃收費 應保持在合理及可負擔的水平，機制亦應盡量簡 單，確保不會影響企業的營運效益。協會亦將於 諮詢期內向政府表達意見。

除了跟進相關政策，協會年內亦舉辦多項盛事。 三十周年晚會暨頒獎典禮已於2013年12月5日假 香港會議展覽中心圓滿舉行，吸引逾1,400名賓客 參加，為協會30周年誌慶劃上完美句號。當晚協 會於向創會主席古勝祥先生、首位批發及零售界 功能組別立法會議員(1995-2004)周梁淑怡女士， 以及批發及零售界功能組別立法會議員(2004年至 今)方剛先生頒發「榮譽會士」榮銜，表揚他們協 助業界克服困境，擔當業界與政府溝通的橋樑， 貢獻良多。

協會有幸邀得財政司司長曾俊華先生蒞臨主禮， 謹此感謝曾司長於晚會上致辭，並向三位榮譽會 士頒發獎座。另外亦感謝活動及獎品贊助商、嘉 賓及參與會員，令晚會圓滿舉行。

為確保協會的長遠發展，我們於2013年11月推 出個人聯席會員計劃，務求為業界培育新一代領 袖，並為同業提供拓展人脈的平台。有關申請詳 情及會員福利，請瀏覽協會網站「會員」部分的 有關專頁。

希望業界同仁能踴躍申請成為聯席會員，享用各種 福利，包括與CEO見面對談及參加各項培訓課程。

總括而言，協會度過了非常充實而精彩的一年。 為慶祝30周年會慶，協會於年內推出連串新猷及 活動，謹此感謝會員的鼎力支持，令周年誌慶倍 添難忘。展望未來，希望各位繼續支持協會，讓 我們日益壯大，為會員及業界提供更佳的服務。

馬年將至，預祝各位財源廣進，身體健康﹗

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