Director's Message

Ramesh Venkat, PhD
Director, David Sobey Retailing Centre 

The retail sector is vital to the economic health of Canada. The sector employs over 2.25 million Canadians and contributes 5% of the Canadian GDP.

In the past decade, retailers have been forced to innovate, and in some case transform themselves, in response to several external factors. Changing consumer behaviour and employee expectations, the advent of AI, and the need to meet sustainability targets are just some of the factors driving big changes in the retail sector. Retail is a dynamic industry with many opportunities for research & innovation, as well as career opportunities for graduates.

The David Sobey Retailing Centre plays a vital role in this exciting and important sector. Our vision is to be the leading source of expertise and insights for the retail sector. We bring our vision to life by focusing on three primary areas – applied research in retailing, innovation, and retail education.

We sponsor research projects that address substantial issues in the retail sector, and are carried out often in collaboration with retailers. Our innovation projects focus on bringing cutting-edge technologies such as AI, computer vision, robotics, and VR to make retailing more efficient as well as exciting for consumers. We offer a range of executive programs for managers and senior executives and support academic courses in retail in our degree programs.

The David Sobey Retailing Centre is multidisciplinary in its approach, drawing from faculty and graduate students in diverse disciplines within the Sobey School of Business as well as Computer Science, Engineering, and Psychology. This allows us to bring new and diverse perspectives when addressing challenges and opportunities.

The David Sobey Retailing Centre is made possible due to a generous and visionary gift from Dr. David Sobey, former Chair Emeritus of Sobeys Inc. We are very appreciative of his generosity and continue to be inspired by his vision for the Canadian retail sector.

Our partnerships with retailers and start-ups, and association with the Retail Council of Canada allows us to stay connected with the retail sector. We welcome collaboration in research which can inform your decisions as a retailer, as well as in our executive programs and innovation projects. Please contact us if you see an opportunity or wish to learn more about what we do: davidsobeycentre@smu.ca