Speaker

Firdaos Rosli

Firdaos joined MARC as Head of Economic Research, with over 15 years of experience in economic development in November 2020. As MARC’s Chief Economist, he is responsible for economic, sovereign and sub-sovereign rating as well as fixed-income macroeconomic research output.

In the early years of his career, Firdaos worked for PricewaterhouseCoopers Malaysia and RHB Bank Berhad. From 2005-2010, Firdaos served with the Malaysian government as an Administrative and Diplomatic Officer under the purview of the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI), where he worked on policies concerning bilateral and regional trade relations, Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and industrial development. He also served in the Minister’s Office as the Senior Private Secretary to MITI’s Deputy minister from 2008 to 2010.

Prior to joining MARC, Firdaos served with the Institute of Strategic and International Studies (ISIS) Malaysia from January 2011 to October 2020, where he moved up the ranks from Senior Analyst in Economics to the Director of Economics, Trade and Regional Integration, having assumed the latter post in April 2017. During his time with ISIS, he also served as a short-term external consultant to the World Bank and was a former EXCO member of the Malaysia-Japan Economic Association.

Firdaos holds a Bachelor of Arts in Accounting and Finance degree from Lancaster University, UK. He also completed his Master of Public Policy from the London School of Economics and Political Science as a 2019/2020 Chevening scholar. He holds a Diploma in Public Administration from the National Institute of Public Administration (INTAN), Malaysia and Business Foundation Programme from St. Andrew’s College in Cambridge, UK.

AllSessions

Day 2
October 21, 2021
8:45 am

Concurrent Session C: “Reviving Retail: The Way Forward”

21 October
Time:  8:45 am - 9:45 am
Location: 

The retail sector, including malls, is one of the worst-hit sectors during the pandemic. Due to lockdowns, the retail sector contracted 16% in 2020, its worst performance since the 1998 Asian financial crisis*, with double-digit contractions for apparel, footwear, and fashion accessories. Even hypermarkets, supermarkets, and convenience stores recorded a drop in total sales due to lower footfall. Online shopping, however, has seen a substantial increase in sales, with e-commerce revenues shooting up 30% in 1Q 2021 y-o-y, after registering steady growth in 2020**.

The statistics indicate the need to migrate to, or incorporate, e-commerce, even for traditional shopping malls that rely on footfall. What are the difficulties that lie ahead, and is there a sweet spot that combines the best of traditional retail and online shopping?

*Malaysia Retail Sales Report (March 2021)
**Department of Statistics Malaysia