Ochama (JD.com) and C&A headline RetailDetail Omnichannel & E-Commerce Congress

RetailDetail is able to announce the first speakers on this year’s Omnichannel & E-Commerce Congress, which will be held on 24 March. The line-up includes interesting names such as Ochama (JD.com), C&A and De Gele Flamingo.

Automated pick-up points

As the Covid-19 pandemic pushed online sales upwards, what is the ‘New Normal’ in e-commerce like? And which impact does this have on in-store and omnichannel retail? These questions will be the focus of this year’s RetailDetail Omnichannel & E-Commerce Congress. The congress, taking place in Antwerp on 24 March, features the tagline ‘Retail beyond the digital acceleration’ and an interesting list of speakers – the first of whom we can now make public.

All eyes will be on Mark den Butter’s key-note: he is Chief Operations Officer at Ochama, the Dutch company with which Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com is trying to conquer Europe. They do so using an innovative online concept, offering a product range of 7,000 food and non-food items at discount prices. Their fully automated pick-up points have already attracted a lot of attention. Ochama is very ambitious; are you also eager to know about their plans?

International success

A recent headline: C&A wants e-commerce to generate half of their sales by 2025. Today, it accounts for just a fifth of turnover. Switching to online should attract younger shoppers (back) to C&A. On top of its own channels, the fashion chain has also partnered with Zalando. Joris Van Rooy, Chief Digital Officer Europe, will reveal how his company will multiply their online sales in just three years’ time.

You don’t need to be a multinational to be successful in cross-border e-commerce, as ‘local hero’ De Gele Flamingo proves: not only did the Antwerp-based web shop for baby products open its first physical store, it also launched an English version of its webshop to profit from the booming attention from customers as far away as Australia, China or Kuwait. Their ultimate ambition? “To become the reference for babies, children and lifestyle”, founder Sophie Claes explains. That promises to be an interesting story.

Book quickly

The RetailDetail Omnichannel & E-Commerce Congress will take place on Thursday, 24 March in RetailDetail’s own event location, in shopping centre Stadsfeestzaal in Antwerp. Retail professor Gino Van Ossel (Vlerick Business School) will moderate the whole programme.

We will announce a new series of speakers shortly, but do not wait too long to book your seat: the auditorium has a capacity of 220 places and tends to sell out quickly. Follow this link to find practical information and book your tickets.