Agenda
february 4 - 5, 2025 / FAIRMONT RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA
Agenda
february 4 - 5, 2025
FAIRMONT RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA
Click on each session for an expanded view of the agenda
Click on each session for an
expanded view of the agenda
day1 4/2/2025
Business Outlook: Navigating A New Global Order
As businesses grapple with rising geopolitical tensions, economic uncertainty, and the rapid pace of technological transformation, what lies ahead for the global economy? Key business leaders share their perspectives on navigating the complexities of 2025 and beyond. What are the key macroeconomic trends shaping the future of global commerce? How can business leaders turn uncertainty into opportunity while driving resilience and innovation?
Visa Exclusive Insights: Shaping the Year Ahead
As digital payments evolve, the retail landscape is being reshaped by technology and changing consumer expectations. What are the critical trends retailers must embrace to stay competitive in 2025? This session offers exclusive insights into how fintech innovation can enhance customer engagement and drive business growth.
A New Leadership Order: Building Growth in Turbulent Times
As organizations face economic headwinds and unpredictable markets, leadership at the highest level has never been more critical. This session explores how visionary leaders are guiding innovative portfolio strategies, driving smart productivity, and championing resource optimization to unlock untapped value and ensure sustainable growth. What does it take to redefine leadership, turn volatility into strategic advantage, and forge resilient paths in a world where change is the only constant?
The 2025 Retail Agenda: Resilience Amid Transformation
Amid transformative shifts in the retail sector, leaders face the challenge of aligning with evolving consumer behaviors, addressing competitive pressures, and overcoming market disruptions. With growth trends, the evolution of channels, and strategies for optimizing category profits at the forefront, the focus is on building resilience while perfecting operational basics. What strategic approaches will top retailers adopt to drive resilience and innovation? How can businesses align with changing market dynamics to ensure sustained growth?
Navigating a New Frontier: Social Commerce – Building Communities, Not Just Sales
In a world where digital and physical boundaries increasingly blur, social commerce is revolutionizing how consumers shop, connect, and build relationships with brands. This transformative force is reshaping the retail ecosystem by driving cultural relevance, creating immersive experiences, and redefining consumer relationships. How can brands move beyond transactions to build communities, spark meaningful conversations, and foster loyalty? What strategies are needed to navigate this paradigm shift, challenge established norms, and unlock new opportunities for sustainable growth and innovation?
The AI Advantage: Transforming Retail for Profit and Performance
Artificial Intelligence is not just reshaping retail; it’s redefining the rules of engagement across customer experiences and back-end operations. Through actual use cases, explore how AI powers personalized shopping, inventory optimization, and supply chain efficiency at scale. Will these innovations unlock growth, enhance performance, and create a lasting competitive advantage? And where should CEOs focus their attention to fully leverage AI’s transformative potential across the retail ecosystem?
Global Threads: How Marketplaces Are Reweaving the Retail Fabric
Marketplaces are reshaping the retail landscape, bridging B2B and B2C markets through scalable ecosystems that foster growth and innovation. In the Middle East, where e-commerce is projected to reach $57 billion by 2026, marketplaces are critical in addressing evolving consumer preferences—80% of shoppers favor online platforms for convenience and variety. What strategies are essential for designing consumer-centric marketplaces that cater to regional dynamics while fostering global competitiveness? How can businesses integrate personalized experiences with seamless digital solutions to unlock marketplace-driven growth?
Urban Renaissance: The High-Stakes Evolution of Retail-Driven Cities
As cities transform, retail is emerging as a cornerstone of urban evolution, turning mixed-use developments into vibrant lifestyle hubs. These spaces seamlessly integrate living, working, entertainment, and culture, reshaping how communities thrive. With a focus on best practices and real-world use cases, this session delves into how sustainable design and innovative technologies are driving measurable outcomes in urban retail. But as retail takes center stage, does its greatest potential lie in fostering cultural transformation, or in unlocking new economic and strategic advantages for the future of urban living?
Stay, Play, Shop: Building Integrated Destinations for the Connected Visitor
In today’s travel and retail landscape, visitors demand seamless convenience, connectivity, and immersive experiences. The “Stay, Play, Shop” model is emerging as a cornerstone for creating integrated destinations that combine hospitality, retail, and recreation with unparalleled experiential value. How can destinations effectively harness this model to enhance visitor retention, maximize economic impact, and build community-driven value? What strategies can align retail, dining, entertainment, and experiential elements within mixed-use developments to craft vibrant, economically resilient ecosystems that captivate modern travelers?
Beyond AI Hype: How Far Can Retail Go in Scaling Growth?
Generative AI is transforming retail by automating operations, personalizing customer interactions, and driving data-led decision-making. With AI expected to contribute $320 billion to the Middle East’s economy by 2030, how can businesses harness its full potential? This session examines real-world applications of AI in product development, marketing, and customer service, offering insights into how leaders can navigate this transformative technology to deliver operational excellence and growth.
AI on the Menu? Transforming the F&B Sector
In a region where culinary traditions meet rapid technological advancements, AI is revolutionizing the F&B sector. From optimizing supply chains to personalizing customer experiences, GCC companies are adopting AI to stay competitive in a global market. How are these innovations addressing the unique challenges of the region, from sustainability to consumer expectations? This session explores transformative case studies and the untapped potential for AI to redefine how food and beverage businesses operate in the GCC and beyond.
Beyond AI Hype: How Far Can Retail Go in Scaling Growth?
Generative AI is transforming retail by automating operations, personalizing customer interactions, and driving data-led decision-making. With AI expected to contribute $320 billion to the Middle East’s economy by 2030, how can businesses harness its full potential? This session examines real-world applications of AI in product development, marketing, and customer service, offering insights into how leaders can navigate this transformative technology to deliver operational excellence and growth.
AI on the Menu? Transforming the F&B Sector
In a region where culinary traditions meet rapid technological advancements, AI is revolutionizing the F&B sector. From optimizing supply chains to personalizing customer experiences, GCC companies are adopting AI to stay competitive in a global market. How are these innovations addressing the unique challenges of the region, from sustainability to consumer expectations? This session explores transformative case studies and the untapped potential for AI to redefine how food and beverage businesses operate in the GCC and beyond.
The Business of Sustainability
In a world where consumers demand accountability and regulators tighten their focus, sustainability is no longer just a goal—it’s a business imperative. With retail and fashion responsible for nearly 10% of global carbon emissions and over 20% of global wastewater, and with growing consumer demand for sustainable products, the urgency for action has never been greater. How can companies innovate supply chains, reduce environmental impact, and foster resilience while aligning profitability with purpose? Explore actionable strategies for sustainable ecosystems and draw inspiration from real-world business successes delivering measurable impact.
From Strategy to Resilience: Building Retail Growth Models
In a world shaped by economic uncertainty and rapid consumer shifts, resilience has become the cornerstone of retail success. This session explores the development of growth models that prioritize customer loyalty, operational consistency, and adaptability to external challenges. Industry leaders will unpack how distinct and consistent strategies can navigate economic pressures, strengthen customer relationships, and future-proof retail businesses against unforeseen disruptions.
day2 5/2/2025
Driving Smart Growth: Leveraging Public-Private Partnerships to Unlock Opportunities
As industries converge and consumer expectations soar, the need for innovative public-private partnerships (PPPs) has never been more pressing. These partnerships are becoming essential for driving smart growth and fostering innovation across sectors like F&B, entertainment, and mixed-use developments. What strategies can effectively integrate diverse districts, real estate assets, and consumer-focused initiatives to unlock sustainable growth? This session will deep dive into best practices and highlight emerging opportunities for leveraging PPPs to create value, transform communities, and build resilient, future-ready ecosystems.
The Big Picture: Cashless Economies and the New Consumer Paradigm
The retail payment landscape is evolving rapidly, driven by innovation, shifting consumer expectations, and the rise of cashless economies. How are emerging technologies and strategies reshaping commerce and redefining the consumer experience? From advanced security measures to transformative fintech-retailer collaborations, explore the best practices and insights setting new benchmarks in payment innovation. As the digital economy accelerates, how can businesses leverage these changes to build resilience, foster trust, and drive sustainable growth?
The Innovation Imperative: Leading Retail’s Next Chapter
As technological advancements redefine the boundaries of retail, they challenge traditional models, from customer-centric strategies to operational excellence. How can leaders navigate this transformative era, harnessing innovation to drive growth and adapt to emerging opportunities? Does the future of AI in retail call for rapid adoption or a bold reimagining of the entire business model?
GCC Malls at a Crossroads? Balancing Vision and Viability in Retail Real Estate
The future of shopping malls in the GCC, and particularly in the KSA, lies at the intersection of ambition and pragmatism. As macro-economic forces drive shifts in the KSA landscape, evolving consumer needs and the emergence of new formats with duty free and resort retail are changing the face of retail real estate in the Kingdom and the region. In this ever-changing environment, how can mall operators across the GCC navigate economic fluctuations and strike a delicate balance between supply and demand to ensure resilience and drive sustainable growth?
Pushing the Limits? The High-Stakes Game of Automating Customer Experiences
As the future of commerce rapidly evolves, conversational commerce is emerging as a game-changer for businesses aiming to stay ahead. By 2030, 85% of customer interactions are expected to be automated, reshaping how companies engage with their customers. This session examines how conversational commerce can become a strategic growth driver, blending AI-powered chat tools with human-centric insights to deliver seamless, personalized experiences at scale. But how far can businesses push the boundaries of automation before losing the essence of personalized customer engagement?
Women Who Lead: Resilience, Innovation, and the New Rules of Leadership
As the world confronts disruption at every turn, leadership itself is being redefined. What does it take to lead with impact while navigating the pressures of transformation and rising expectations? This session delves into the stories and strategies of trailblazing women who are reshaping the retail and lifestyle industries, exploring how resilience and innovation are not just responses to change but tools to rewrite the future of leadership.
The Business of Luxury: Steering Organizations Toward Sustainable Growth
Luxury is at a crossroads, driven by the need for bold innovation to meet evolving consumer expectations, AI-powered disruption, and shifting global market dynamics. How are leaders navigating this period of transformation? This session provides a high-level perspective on the current state of luxury, unveiling how organizations are adapting to rapid change, redefining customer-centric experiences, and positioning themselves to capitalize on the opportunities of tomorrow.
The Cross-Border Economy: Balancing Opportunity and Responsibility
Global cross-border e-commerce is projected to exceed $2 trillion by 2026, with platforms like Shein and Temu disrupting traditional trade and capturing over 30% market share in key categories across the Middle East market. However, regulatory loopholes and tariff discrepancies pose significant challenges for local players, risking market imbalances. This session delves into strategies for leveling the playing field, optimizing logistics, and fostering sustainable growth. How can businesses and regulators collaborate to ensure fair competition while seizing the opportunities of a globalized economy?
The Rise of Value-Led Grocery: Opportunities in the GCC Market
Discount grocery retail has redefined Western grocery markets, with value-led players capturing over 20% of market share and reshaping the entire value chain. While such models have yet to gain significant traction in the GCC, nearly 70% of customers express a strong interest in shopping at discount-focused concepts. As the GCC grocery retail market matures and customer preferences diversify, how can the region capitalize on the value-led opportunity? What broader lessons from the rise of discount models can inspire innovative strategies and drive resilience in competitive markets? This session will explore successful discount retail formulas from the West, their adaptability to markets like Saudi Arabia and the UAE, and the strategic adjustments required for local success.
Luxury in Motion: How Hyper-Personalization is Redefining the Rules
Luxury is evolving rapidly in the Middle East, fueled by one of the world’s highest mobile penetrations and booming e-commerce, projected to reach $49 billion by 2025. How are luxury brands leveraging Clienteling 3.0, data-driven marketing, and social selling to deliver hyper-personalized customer experiences? This session uncovers actionable strategies for integrating technology with human touchpoints to drive growth, enhance competitiveness, and meet rising consumer expectations in a region reshaping the global luxury landscape.
Balancing Legacy and Innovation: Leading Heritage Brands Through Change
Heritage brands are icons of timeless values, but in today’s fast-evolving market, their survival hinges on reinvention. How can leaders preserve a brand’s legacy while driving the innovation needed to thrive in a competitive landscape? This session explores the delicate balance between honoring tradition and embracing transformation. Discover the leadership skills and bold strategies shaping the future of iconic brands, enabling them to navigate shifting consumer demands and redefine their relevance in an ever-changing global market.
Time to Move? What’s Next for Retail Real Estate
The retail real estate sector is at an inflection point, driven by shifting market dynamics and evolving consumer expectations. As urban centers adapt to new realities, how can developers and retailers work together to future-proof retail spaces? This session examines the opportunities and challenges shaping the next era of retail real estate—from adopting innovative formats and sustainable practices to navigating economic uncertainties and leveraging advanced technologies. What strategies will define success in this rapidly changing landscape?
Rethinking Relevance? Department Stores in the Age of the Experience Economy
In an era where consumer expectations are redefining retail, department stores face the challenge of balancing tradition with transformation. How are leaders adapting their strategies to create engaging, experience-driven spaces that resonate with modern shoppers? This session explores the innovative approaches reshaping department stores, from digital integration and sustainability to customer-centric design.
Feeding the Future: Balancing Innovation and Affordability in KSA’s Food and Retail Market
Saudi Arabia’s food and retail sectors are navigating a complex landscape where price sensitivity and the growing prominence of discounters intersect with a rising demand for healthier, personalized, and sustainable options. With the population expected to grow by over 6 million by 2030, how can businesses balance affordability with innovation?
From Workforce to Growth Force: People Power to Transform and Thrive
The potential of human capital to ignite transformation has never been greater. Talent drives the creation of high-performance cultures, reshapes inclusive work environments, and unlocks productivity and innovation at scale. In an age of disruption, does sustainable growth hinge on merely adapting to workforce shifts, or on positioning talent as the architect of exceptional customer experiences and strategic business reinvention?
