Cambodia Investment Review
World Bridge Group announced the signing of a joint venture with Luxury Business Group (LBG) Korea to bring luxury and retail training, recruitment, and consulting services to the Cambodian market.
The partnership aims to differentiate Cambodia’s luxury industry and accelerate its growth into a world-class retail playground by providing recruitment and training for luxury brands and the retail sector a key driver for Cambodia’s aim to be an upper-middle-income economy by 2030.
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In Cambodia, LBG will work with distributors, property owners, and brand owners to develop luxury service strategies, recruitment, and training to support the development of a robust retail sector. The company plans to open a training academy in Phnom Penh specializing in retail and luxury services training.
According to LBG, it aims to become the business partner of local and international organizations for talent development with training conducted in Khmer and English and all training personalized to the needs of each client.
The signing ceremony was held at the “Korea-Cambodia Business Forum” and attended by senior delegates from the Royal Government of Cambodia, including:
- H.E. Pan Sorasak, Minister of Commerce
- H.E. Sok Chenda Sophea, Secretary General of Cambodia Development Council
- Neak Oknha Rithy Sear, Chairman of WorldBridge Group
- Daniel Mayran, founder and chairman of Luxury Business Group
Developing higher standards in the retail sector
Neak Oknha Rithy Sear, Chairman of WorldBridge Group said in a statement, the development of higher standards in the retail sector is critical for serving the Cambodian consumer and capturing the full potential of tourism dollars in the domestic market and travel retail such as downtown duty-free.
“Top global brands in the luxury and premium segments require professional skills currently in short supply. Advancement of the Cambodian retail sector will require significant investments in human resource development,” he added.
Daniel Mayran, founder and chairman of Luxury Business Group also commented that Cambodia is in the center of Indochina and is not far from the huge markets of India and China. In addition, with Thailand and Vietnam as neighboring countries, Cambodia is expected to grow into a huge luxury market in the future, and it is a significant market strategically.
“We will provide a differentiated consulting approach and insight into the challenges and responses faced in the luxury and retail field and focus on enhancing the quality of service of human resources through customized solutions,” he said.
The Peak develops flagship luxury shopping mall
The development of new hotels, shopping malls, resorts, and high-rise buildings in Cambodia has accelerated over the last decade among them, The Peak, located in the center of the Phnom Penh CBD.
The multi-purpose development will open the Kingdom’s first Shangri-La hotel and luxury shopping mall with over 25,000m2 in Q4 of 2023, featuring top global luxury brand flagship stores. These brands will require the advanced retail human resources that LBG will provide.
In 2021, Bluebell Group – Asia’s leading omnichannel luxury brand distributor and operator – formally announced the launch of its Cambodian operations. The launch was described as a watershed moment in Cambodia’s timeline of economic development.
According to Bluebell Group its vision for the project is around ‘harmonized retail’, seamlessly integrating the consumer journey physically, and digitally, through nomadic concepts and fully dedicated customer service to engage at a high level of retail excellence. The company has appointed ‘The Peak’ in Phnom Penh as its retail manager.
Cambodia’s economy has sustained an average real growth rate of 7.7% between 1998 and 2019, making it one of the fastest-growing economies in the world. Cambodia is forecast to graduate from its Least Developed Country (LDC) status in either 2027 or 2028, according to a report published by the UN Development Programme.
