Premier Investments chairman, Solomon Lew, was inducted into the World Retail Hall of Fame yesterday – the first Australian to be bestowed with the recognition – at the 2016 Word Retail Congress in Dubai.

Lew was one of three new members inducted to the Hall of Fame this year, alongside Tommy Hilfiger and England’s Jo Malone. In his acceptance speech, the Australian retail icon and former Coles-Myer chairman talked up the virtues of Australian retail to the global audience in attendance.

“As the first Australian to be inducted, the award also gives recognition to the Australian retail sector, which has developed to become one of the most vibrant and competitive in the world,” Lew said.

The Premier Investments chairman also underscored the critical role that retail plays in driving economic growth.

“A strong retail industry is the lifeblood of a strong economy and society. It has an immense economic and social multiplier effect, both before and beyond the point of sale on so many levels.”

As a Member of the World Retail Hall of Fame, Lew joins eminent figures from the international retail industry, including Amancio Ortega (Zara), Sir Paul Smith (Paul Smith), Tadashi Yanai (Uniqlo), Heinz Krogner (Esprit), Jacques Levy (Sephora) and Ingvar Kamprad (Ikea).

Here is Lew’s World Retail Hall of Fame acceptance speech in full:

I am truly honoured to be recognised in this way by my international peers. I firstly want to convey my appreciation to the Grand Jury, and to the Congress. I also want to congratulate my co-inductees – Jo Malone and Tommy Hilfiger. It adds to my pleasure to be in your company. 

For the 2016 inductees our real honour also lies in the knowledge of the World Retail Hall of Fame members that we now join – eminent and legendary figures who have all made an enormous contribution to the development of retail around the world. I am not only honoured, but deeply humbled to join such a group. 

As the first Australian to be inducted, the award also gives recognition to the Australian retail sector, which has developed to become one of the most vibrant and competitive in the world.

 I believe retail to be a very special and important vocation. We fulfil people’s basic needs and also enable people to aspire and to dream. And, a strong retail industry is the lifeblood of a strong economy and society. It has an immense economic and social multiplier effect both before and beyond the point of sale on so many levels.

As our world becomes increasingly globalised, homogenised and technology and data driven – retail also provides the opportunity for many of us to express both our creativity and demonstrate that beyond the ‘science’ of retail there is also the subjective but essential ‘art’ of retail.

The love of not only ‘touching and feeling’ but also truly understanding your customer, product and the ability to execute with a mix of both intuition and experience. The nature of an honour such as this is to recognise individual achievement when, in reality, success in retail is a collaborative outcome. When I look at the members of the Hall of Fame I can see creative geniuses and others who have reinvented business models. But our common success lies in the ability to execute and to realize the vision – and that relies on the many talented people, at all levels of our businesses, who we work with every day.

In my companies our senior management understands that, in retail, a degree in MBWA (Management by Walking Around) is much more valuable than an MBA. Hard to do in an online virtual store – but the concept of being close to the business and understanding how things really work as distinct from how they should work must never be lost. So, I want to give credit and acknowledge those who I have worked with over many years who have enabled success.

Finally, it is also a sense of great pride and satisfaction to me that my three adult children have all become accomplished and successful retailers in their own right. For retail to have been my life’s work, and to have the opportunity to work and engage with so many talented people, continues to be both a pleasure and a privilege.

 I thank the Congress again for this honour.

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