Datuk Ken Phua elected as the 10th MRCA president

KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysia Retail Chain Association (MRCA) has officially announced that Datuk Ken Phua of Bentley Music Group has been elected as the 10th MRCA president.

Phua succeeded Datuk Sharan Valiram, who served as the MRCA president for the term 2022-2024.

The MRCA held its 27th annual general meeting (AGM) at The Ritz-Carlton here recently.

Sharan will continue to contribute to the industry and association as immediate past president.

The new office bearers for the term 2024 – 2026 are as follows:

During the voting session, ordinary members casted their votes digitally through a voting software. The meeting was attended by 118 members.

Phua shares that he wishes to focus on six key areas (as stated below) during his term with his tagline “Reunite, Voice, and Triumph for Retailers”.

Phua’s objectives for the 2024 to 2026 term:

1. By implementing networking effectiveness techniques:

Engaging MRCA’s four pillars of the retail industry to benefit from each other through sharing and learning key success factors on how retailers resolve and find solutions in the volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) environment.

2. Embrace globalisation:

Provide a retailing platform for MRCA members to network with local and international players in the retail and franchise industries, enhancing their understanding of globalisation.

3. Continuous learning culture:

Cultivate a learning culture among all retailers by assisting them in interfacing with its MRCA Academy division support, thus fostering continuous embrace of a learning culture.

4. Engagement with the authorities:

Embracing knowledge through training programmes for retailers, utilising various authorities’ grants and initiatives to keep MRCA members abreast of economic policies affecting its retail industry players.

5. First mover adoptions advantage:

Be the catalyst with the authority to stay abreast of the new environment of the retailing business era, particularly concerning technology in the AI and ESG era, thus averting business model disruptions caused by economic uncertainties.

6. Tradition works in tandem with innovation:

Maintaining the tradition and culture of MRCA while simultaneously being flexible and open to change, embracing new challenges through innovation for modern era retailers.