Taken the top 10 department store companies in Asia/Pacific Japan is represented by six companies, Korea by three and Australia by one company. The World Department Store Forum will hold its 6th Meeting in Tokyo/Japan in this inspiring environment with the challenging topic "Department Stores' Future in a Megacity" (more Email).

The latest investments in Tokyo under way are from the two Japanese players Mitsukoshi and Takashimaya which both enlarge their stores in the highly frequented Nihonbashi district.
 

In Romania the Academic & Business Partnership organized in Targoviste its 2018 SCM 4 ECR Conference with the theme "Future Leadership and Artificial Intelligence drive Value Networks". More by Prof.Dr.Theodor Purcarea/ Holistic Marketing Management (Email).

In Osijek/Croatia the 18th International Scientific Conference "Business Logistics in Modern Management" was organized. 98 authors from 10 European countries and 49 reviewers contributed to the proceedings, which also have been published in a Reader (see photo). Prof.Dr.Hallier has been member of the Honorary Program Committee. More by Prof.Dr.Davor Dujak (Email).
 

The Chinese President Xi Jinping is aiming to bring his country to the top position as a global innovation center for Artificial Intelligence (AI) in 2030. In Chang Chun, North East China, an International Two-dimensional Code Industry Development Summit was organized to explore innovation opportunities for the commodity circulation. Prof.Dr.B.Hallier was invited to attend as a key-note speaker with the topic of "retail/wholesale as an innovation driver". For Hallier the Two Dimensions Code are "the new rails of the Silk Road 2030".

This high-caliber event was also used to sign a MOU about the cooperation with the european-retail-academy.org/TUN where ZIIOT/Beijing will be the Chinese Umbrella Organization.
 

Prof.Dr.B.Hallier and Prof.Dr.S.Zaric (Zagreb/Croatia) discussed the history of the former Habsburg Empire and the Danubian Principalities Wallachia and Moldovia on one hand and the Balkan Zone of the former Osman Empire on the other - and its conflicts during the two World Wars, the Iron Curtain and the split of the former Republic of Yugoslavia.

Both ERA-professors agreed on the importance of political, economic and social activities beyond old and new borders and an optimization of penetration of knowledge about the past, today's situation and its potential for future generations. Both want to promote university contacts and Conferences within Central Eastern Europe.
 

In December 2015 the European Commission published a Circular Economy Package to encourage more sustainability in the UN reflected by the UN Sustainability Development Goals for 2030.

EuroCommerce now discussed the status quo in Brussels and the plans to revise various waste directions and to minimize waste and losses. The motto was "Scaling up market solutions in Retail & Wholesale". The meeting of 250 experts was attended also by high level administration officials like Dr. J.Potocnik/UN International Resource Panel and former EU-Commissioner, D.Calleju Crespo/ General Director DG Environment, B.Poisson/ French Ministry for Ecology, MEPs like A.J.Valean or K. van Brempt. Retail was represented among others by Carrefour, IKEA, METRO, BGA, FCD, Virke and Prof.Dr.B.Hallier (at the photo together with the EuroCommerce President Regis Degelcke and Christian Verschueren Managing Director EuroCommerce).