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Lane Crawford sponsored four BA students for the Future Retail Challenge of the World Retail Congress: Burgundy Ann Lau, Ankie Leung, Ng Hoi-ching Etta, and Sin Wai-sum Kristina, who proudly represented PolyU in Berlin, Germany in April 2026. The competition is a highlight of the World Retail Congress, with the aim to inspire and engage the next generation of retail talent by bridging academic knowledge with real-world applications. The students embarked on this international journey under the supervision of Profs. Magnum Lam and Chan Hau-ling, who provided invaluable mentorship and guidance.
This year, the competition challenged the teams to address the theme “Reimagining the Store in the Age of AI”. In response, the PolyU team developed an innovative strategic model for the beauty retail sector, anchored by the philosophy that “Technology Supports Decisions, People Build Trust”. Recognising that the modern beauty market is flooded with an overwhelming variety of products and choices, the students conceptualised a framework to eliminate consumer decision fatigue. Their proposed strategy highlighted the critical importance of integrating both the analytical precision of AI and authentic empathy of human beauty advisors in the future of retail. This synergistic approach can help retailers drive continuous innovation, offer highly personalised services, and more accurately conduct market forecasting. Furthermore, the proposed strategy empowers shoppers to confidently navigate a saturated beauty landscape so that they make logical and well-informed choices.
The team showcased their talents on a global stage, and competed against students from six other universities: École des Hautes Études Commerciales du Nord (EDHEC) Business School (France), ESCP Business School Turin (Italy) Campus, Fashion Institute of Technology (USA), London College of Fashion (the UK), University of Amsterdam (The Netherlands), and University of Cape Town (South Africa). Profs. Lam and Chan, along with the students, would like to express their heartfelt gratitude to Ms Jennifer Woo, Chairman and CEO of The Lane Crawford Joyce Group, for sponsoring the PolyU team’s participation in this prestigious international competition. Lane Crawford is empowering emerging talent and grooming the next generation by connecting young talents with invaluable opportunities in the fashion industry. In addition, Profs. Lam and Chan extend their sincere appreciation to the Dean of SFT, Prof. Erin Cho; Associate Dean, Prof. Joanne Yip; and Associate Professor, Prof. Ho Chu-po for their invaluable advice and support to the team.
About the World Retail Congress
The World Retail Congress is an annual event that connects influential leaders, executives, technology experts, stakeholders, and academics from around the globe to explore opportunities and tackle challenges within the retail sector.
