Panels
Why Jakarta?
A pacy introduction to our dynamic host city from two Indonesian leaders who know Jakarta inside out. Meet your guides: retail expert Cynthia Wirjono, who has long championed local brands and built several of her own; and Michael Djuita, whose restaurant-and-bar group is driving creative concepts and fresh business models in the city’s toothsome F&B scene. A scene-setter for a day of inspiration and opportunity.
With:
Cynthia Wirjono, co-founder of The Goods Dept, Brightspot Market and Oaken Labs
Michael Djuita, CEO and founder of hospitality firm 20WOL
Beauty and the brand
Beauty and bodycare is booming and Asia is the world’s biggest market. With Japan’s J-beauty and South Korea's K-beauty products already household names, we hear from a leading voice from the next frontier: T-beauty. Vorravit Siripark’s Bangkok-based spa and beauty brand is a luxury pioneer at home and stands on the cusp of regional expansion.
With:
Vorravit Siripark, CEO and founder of Pañpuri
Building better cities
Southeast Asia’s biggest cities might have earned a reputation over the years for being congested concrete jungles but it’s time to revisit these outdated impressions. Leading architects around the region are promoting urban greenery and creating communal spaces for both the public and private sectors. We hear from two of the smartest minds in the architecture business: Indonesia’s Daliana Suryawinata and Thailand’s Wannaporn Phornprapha.
With:
Daliana Suryawinata, co-founder of SHAU architects
Wannaporn Phornprapha, founder and managing director, P Landscape
Making it in Indonesia
Can Indonesia become Asia’s next high-skilled production hub? Both of our panellists oversee global brands with a manufacturing base on the main island of Java and there’s plenty to unpack. Taiwanese product designer An Chieh Chiang has transformed his grandfather’s luggage business into a modern travel brand, while Philippe Delaisse’s Belgian furniture firm is making smart use of Indonesian craftmanship.
With:
Philippe Delaisse, co-founder, Ethnicraft
An Chieh Chiang, CEO and founder, Lojel
Retail’s next chapter
Monocle is bullish about the power of print and Jaime Daez is very much on the same page. The founder of Fully Booked, the best bookshop chain in the Philippines, will flip through his fascinating success story about a young idealist stumbling into a staid industry and proving that physical bookshops have a bright future on the high street. It’s a page-turner.
With:
Jaime Daez, CEO and founder, Fully Booked
Just desserts: how to start a confectionery brand
The world might be watching its waistline but there’s certainly a sweet spot for well-made confectionery, which shows where it is from and how it is made. Consider this a golden ticket to Vietnam’s best chocolate factory; discover founder Vincent Mourou’s journey from working in finance in France to running a brand with 19 chocolate shops, which exports to 20 countries. Just desserts indeed.
With:
Vincent Mourou, CEO and founder, Marou
Things we like
Tyler Brûlé shares some wisdom, ideas and recommendations from his travels and his decades chairing global businesses. From retail and hospitality benchmarks to the best in media, branding and design, Monocle’s editorial director discusses the companies making moves and what’s caught his eye. Notebooks at the ready – these are insights for which you’ll need a pen handy.
Japan’s sustainability pioneers
Businesses must tread more lightly when it comes to using resources and looking after the planet. But it’s not always simple to balance profits for the environment with those of shareholders. We meet people running two Japanese firms who have fresh ideas on the subject. Tokyo-based Sanu is a regenerative model that plants trees, provides homes through subscription and co-ownership models and uses local materials for construction. Shizen Energy Inc is working to advance renewables across Japan and Asia, balancing business growth with a commitment to community.
With:
Gen Fukushima, CEO and founder, Sanu Inc
Ken Isono, co-founder and director, Shizen Energy Inc
Singapore style
Singapore’s deep-pocketed consumers have been matched in recent years by a growing number of homegrown fashion brands. The best of the bunch have built on their commercial successes in one of Asia’s most competitive markets to become retail success stories around the region. Singaporean’s Rebecca Ting and Rachel Lim will give us a measure of their respective fashion businesses and draw back the curtain on the Lion City’s retail scene.
With:
Rebecca Ting, founder, Beyond The Vines
Rachel Lim, co-founder, Love, Bonito
Indonesia’s media moment
Now for our afternoon bulletin anchored by Indonesia’s agenda-setting broadcaster, Najwa Shihab. The longstanding host of current-affairs programme Mata Najwa will be in the hot seat for a change, answering questions about the shifting media landscape in Indonesia, the future of journalism in Southeast Asia, holding the government to account and her toughest assignment to date – running her own digital news channel.
With:
Najwa Shihab, broadcaster and founder of Narasi
Design matters
Deftly deployed design can make the difference between a brand landing and not. One man who knows this better than most is Sydney-based Mark Landini, whose thoughtful interventions and ideas have helped leading retailers break new ground and encouraged smaller ones to speak up. Here he shares his experience since he started out in 1993, how the retail industry has shifted and crucially, the bits that have stayed the same.
With:
Mark Landini, creative director and founder, Landini Associates
Indonesia on film
Cinema can send a powerful message and offer a fresh view of a nation to the world. Shanty Harmayn is one of Indonesia’s top producers and her 25 years in the business has coincided with the film industry’s coming of age. As international investors look for the next South Korea, we go behind the camera for a look at this exciting growth market. The lights and camera are prepped – it’s time for action.
With:
Shanty Harmayn, CEO and co-founder, Base Entertainment
Making a show of it
Only a handful of music festivals are truly global events and Thailand’s mighty Wonderfruit is one of them. Asia’s tropical answer to Glastonbury pulls in a fun-loving crowd for an annual celebration of music, art, culture, cuisine and creativity. As the organisers get ready to stage Wonderfruit’s 10th edition later this year, founder Pete Phornprapha takes the stage for a rare discussion about the festival’s success and the lessons he has learned along the way, both on and off the dancefloor.
With:
Pete Phornprapha, CEO and founder, Scratch First (Wonderfruit)
Panels subject to change
