Page 4 - Retailers_Spring_2012

With regard to Minimum Wage, the Association has joined forces on an independent cross-industry survey by a local university which aims at measuring the primary and rippling effects to further understand its impact on businesses. The findings of the survey will serve as a basis to shape our recommendations to the Minimum Wage Commission on the review of the next Minimum Wage rate.

On Competition Bill, the Association has repeatedly highlighted its lack of clarity and urged the Government to carve out the controversial vertical agreements. We recently submitted the industry’s views on the exemption arrangements for statutory bodies and attended LegCo deputation, putting forward suggestions that the Bill should focus on applying specific exemptions on a case-by-case basis rather than adopting the proposed broad exemption approach. The criteria for granting any exemptions should be objective and economics based. The legal status of an entity as a “statutory body” should not be the overarching criteria for exemption and the focus should be on the nature and substance of the activities, an approach adopted in countries with established competition law such as UK, Europe and the United States.

So much on legislative subjects, we shall now move onto training and development. I wish to update members that the development of the Qualifications Framework for Retail Industry has achieved good progress. The drafting of the Units of Competencies will be completed this summer. A four-month industry-wide consultation on the Specifications of Competency Standards (SCS) will follow. The Hong Kong Council for Accreditation of Academic and Vocational Qualifications will conduct moderations on the SCS accordingly. Training programmes will then be designed for the industry. We foresee this new structure will help uplift the capabilities of our retail workforce and thus the overall competitiveness of the industry.

We expec t to compl e te in May the second phase of the SME Development Programme which encompasses 20 workshops, over 600 mystery shopper visits to 100 SME retailers, 80 one-on-one business consultations and a designated website. The final event is the SME Retailers’ Open Day comprising of an exhibition and thematic seminars scheduled on 26 April 2012. Regarding our earlier submission of a third-year proposal, we have yet to hear from the Trade and Industry Department.

It has always been the Association’s objective to uphold quality customer service through various initiatives. One of our major efforts is the Hong Kong Awards for Industries - Customer Service in which the Association has been a leading organizer for years. A briefing seminar was held in January and followed by a series of assessments, including a review of customer service proposals and mystery shopper visits target for completion in May.

No doubt , 2012 wi l l be another event ful year wi th a ser ies of programmes and activities planned. The 4 th Retail Conference themed “Success & Sustainability” is scheduled for May. Eight speakers will shed light on topics in regard to “Leadership for Change and Innovation” and “Talent Development for Business Sustainability”. A target audience of more than 600 participants is expected and an aggressive marketing plan is underway.

Our flagship programme, the 2012 Service & Courtesy Award, will be kicked-off soon and a comprehensive marketing campaign including pr int adver tisement, TV commercial, media supplement, onl ine marketing and eDM will be rolled out accordingly, from calling for entries to results announcement. As in previous years, winners and their companies would receive wide recognition and exposure in addition to joining a study tour. Recently, some 48 winners of the 2011 Award joined a study tour to Tokyo and visited various retail outlets and training centres.

Over the years, our awards programmes have evolved to become a benchmark for the local retail trade and participation to our industry support programmes have also hit record-high attendance, generating positive feedback from retail companies. I would like to thank our Executive Office and Organizing Committees for spearheading these programmes. Special thanks also go to our members for your active participation and we count on your continued support in upcoming programmes.

在最低工資方面，本協會與一間本地大學合作進行獨立跨 行業調查，衡量最低工資對各行業的基本及連鎖影響。我 們將依據調查結果，向最低工資委員會提供有關檢討下一 個最低工資水平的意見。

至於《競爭條例草案》，本協會繼續促請政府釐清有關內 容，並要求撤銷草案中有關縱向協議的規定。近日我們亦 提交業界對法定組織豁免安排的意見，並出席了立法會的 會議，建議按照個別情況授予特殊豁免，而非採用建議的 劃一豁免方式，而授予豁免的準則應該客觀及以經濟情況 為本。實體擁有「法定機構」的法律地位不應視作豁免條 件，而應借鑑英國、歐洲及美國等已制定競爭法的國家， 以業務性質及實際內容為依歸。

討論過立法問題後，現在談談本協會的培訓及發展事務。 零售業資歷架構取得良好進展，「能力單元」的草擬工作 將於夏季完成，然後便會就《能力標準說明》展開為期四 個月的業界諮詢。香港學術及職業資歷評審局亦將相應修 訂《能力標準說明》。業界可按資歷架構的內容設計培訓 計劃，提高零售人員的能力，使增強行業的整體競爭力。

第二階段中小企發展計劃預計將於5月結束，期間共舉行 了20場工作坊，為 100間中小企零售商進行了600次神秘 顧客評審，提供80個一對一的中小企諮詢服務，並設立 了專屬網站。 設有展覽及主題講座的「中小企零售商開 放日」亦將於4月26日舉行。至於本協會早前向工業貿易 署提交的第三年資助申請，目前尚待回覆。

我們致力透過多元化的措施維持優質的顧客服務，而本 協會主辦多年的「香港工商業獎：顧客服務」便是其中 之一。我們已於本年1月舉行簡報會，現正進行一連串評 估，包括檢討顧客服務計劃書及神秘顧客評審，並將於5 月完成。

隨著各式各樣的計劃及活動相繼展開，2012年無疑是非 常充實的一年。以「卓越零售‧持續成就」為題的第四 屆零售研討會將於5月舉行，屆時八位講者將就「變革領 導．創新之路」及「人盡其才．成就企業持續發展」分享 真知灼見，預計將吸引超過600人參加，而目前宣傳活動 亦進行得如火如荼。

另一方面，為配合即將舉行的旗艦計劃「2012傑出服務 獎」，我們將會展開大規模的宣傳計劃，透過報章廣告、 電視宣傳、特稿、網上推廣及電子郵件等渠道，鼓勵報名 及公布結果。多年以來，歷屆得獎者及得獎企業皆獲得 廣泛認同，更可到外地考察，例如48位「2011傑出服務 獎」得獎者便於近期獲安排前往東京參觀各類零售店及培 訓中心。

本協會的獎勵計劃設立多年，至今已成為本地零售業的典 範，而我們的計劃參加人數亦創歷年新高，得到零售商的 踴躍回應。我謹代表協會感謝秘書處及各籌備委員會籌辦 各項精彩活動，亦特別多謝會員的積極參與，希望大家繼 續支持本協會日後的活動。

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