Apex Footwear’s triple win at Retail Asia Awards 2026
LW Desk
Bangladeshi retail giant Apex Footwear Limited dominated the Retail Asia Awards 2026 at the Marina Bay Sands, taking home top honours in three major categories: AI Initiative of the Year (Bangladesh), Sustainability Initiative of the Year (Bangladesh), and Footwear Retailer of the Year (Bangladesh).
The annual event, organized by Charlton Media Group, evaluates top-performing retail organizations across the Asia-Pacific region using an independent panel of experts from global firms including EY-Parthenon, Euromonitor International, KPMG, RSM Singapore, Kearney, and PwC Australia. While Apex retained its Footwear Retailer and Sustainability titles for the third consecutive year, its push into artificial intelligence earned the company its inaugural AI accolade.
Central to the company's triple-win was its digital strategy, highlighted by the Eid launch of the ‘Apex AI Stylist.’ The platform allowed consumers to upload over 100,000 photos across 83,000 unique sessions. This interactive feature generated roughly 390,000 instant footwear recommendations, translating into 9,500 fulfilled digital orders and securing a 90.4 per cent customer satisfaction score.
Supported by a heavy IT infrastructure and a 360-degree marketing campaign that reached 32 million people, Apex's digital push helped fuel a massive $19.1 million Eid revenue stream.
On the manufacturing and environmental front, the evaluating panel recognized Apex's infrastructure investments, which cut CO₂ emissions by 2,507.20 tonnes over the past year. This reduction was achieved via expanded solar infrastructure and a structured "PET-to-Product" circular economy initiative that successfully recycled 451 tons of waste. Additionally, Apex operates Bangladesh's only full-phase, LWG Gold-certified Effluent Treatment Plant (ETP) and saves 4.6 million liters of groundwater annually via rainwater harvesting.
The award highlights come on the heels of a strong fiscal period for the retailer, marked by a 7.5 per cent year-on-year growth. Alongside the Eid sales spike, Apex recorded a $5.45 million revenue milestone during its two-day Founder's Day 2025 event, driven by a strategic high-volume promotional structure.
The company's domestic physical presence now spans more than 500 stores nationwide. This ecosystem serves a total consumer base of over 7 million shoppers, 5.8 million of whom are registered loyalty program members yielding a 57 per cent repeat purchase rate.
The awards were accepted in Singapore by Apex Chief Executive Officer Firoze Mohammad, alongside Md Raihan Kabir (Head of Marketing) and Arbabur Rahman (Head of Retail Business). "These awards belong to every Apexian and every customer who believed that Bangladeshi quality can stand tall on the global stage," Mohammad stated following the ceremony.
