SMU officially launched its Retail Centre of Excellence (RCoE) on 10 October 2017 – the first and only retail insight-sharing hub in Singapore – focused on generating and disseminating actionable knowledge for retailers in Singapore, Asia and beyond. A joint initiative between SMU, SPRING Singapore and the Singapore Economic Development Board, the RCoE aims to empower retailers with the know-how through research and insights, and build an ecosystem (comprising retailers, retail experts, knowledge partners, SMU faculty and student talent) to ride the winds of change.  The Centre, helmed by SMU Professor of Marketing Kapil R. Tuli, is joined by a group of Founding Members –DFS Venture, Microsoft, Harvey Norman, IKEA, Popular Holdings, Decathlon and Tiffany and Co. The launch was officiated by Ms Sim Ann, Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry.

Prof Kapil said the Centre will aim to keep the retail industry healthy by figuring out best practices for both online and physical retail.  He added that the perceived slump in brick-and-mortar retail may not be as real as imagined and that the physical-versus-online retail issue is not one that is binary but rather complementary in nature. "Now's the time for a centre like this to, regardless of platform, help create unique shopping experiences," he said.  The Centre will take a three-pronged approach – talent, community and research – in order to empower retailers with the know-how and build a strong community of students, experts and businesses.