04 February 2019 - Dubai, UAE:  As retail CEOs are adjusting their strategy to reinvent and transform their business, the 5th Edition of the Retail Leaders Circle MENA Summit returns to Dubai on 25th-26th March at the Four Seasons Resort Dubai at Jumeriah Beach. Spotlighting a stellar line-up of speakers and renowned thinkers, the annually sold-out Summit provides a unique platform for the region’s leaders to navigate a complex business environment and debate the future of the regional retail industry.  

Retail Leaders Circle is the foremost global platform dedicated to shaping the future of retail and commerce worldwide. The exclusive MENA summit will bring together industry CEOs, Founders, and Directors with Investors, Family Office and other visionary leaders from all major retail sectors, centred around the theme, ‘New Age Retail: Thriving Through Disruption'. 

This year the Retail Leaders Circle MENA Summit will launch its i-Zone@RLCMENA that will showcase “technologies” of the future via immersive interactive demonstrations. Using the latest artificial intelligence, machine learning, facial recognition, big data, robotics, CX, UX, and more, the i-Zone@RLCMENA will reveal how smart retail is revolutionizing the way brands market, connect, and serve their customers. 

The Retail Leaders Circle MENA Summit has consistently focused on addressing the regional retail agenda by providing a launch pad for several exclusive research reports, intense moderated discussions, taskforce roundtables, and in 2019 will deliver critical insights from prominent international speakers and key industry partners such as McKinsey & Company, Ernst & Young, Google and PwC, among others.

Providing invaluable perspective on the future of retail, Microsoft is the headline partner of the Retail Leaders Circle MENA Summit. “It’s an honour and a pleasure to be once more with RLC as the headline partner. Retailers need to take advantage of technology to stay competitive, the right technology not only puts the customer at the heart of your business and delivers consistently great experiences, but reduces costs and increases competitive advantage.  Microsoft is committed to deliver on the promise of intelligent retail infusing Data across all areas of the business bringing the potential for completely reinventing the business processes. At the RLC we will talk to Retailers about their business transformation enabled through the power of Advanced analytics, Artificial intelligence, Internet of things and conversational commerce, through our global cloud presence. We look forward to partner with RLC delivering this highly regarded Summit,” commented Ramy Fares, Head of Retail, Travel, and Hospitality, Microsoft Middle East and Africa. 

As CEO of The Chalhoub Group and member of The Retail Leaders Circle Advisory Board, Patrick Chalhoub commented: “The retail expansion is reaching a certain saturation, but retail is not dead, boring retail is dead. We have to answer the retail challenges and create an exclusive customer experience by improving the consumers pain points and focusing on the hybrid journey with stores being a “point of touch”, rather than just a “point of sale”. We are always glad to be part of the Retail Leaders Circle summit, a great opportunity to meet and discuss with industry experts and share valuable insights and experiences.”  

“The retail industry has been subject to intense change across all categories and channels in recent years. As digital technologies have given consumers unparalleled access to products and information, retailers and mall operators are challenged by the accelerating pace of change that threatens to destabilise the industry,” said Panos Linardos, Chairman of Retail Leaders Circle Global. “The Retail Leaders Circle MENA Summit provides an in-depth look at the impact of all this industry change and an inspirational road map on how retailers cannot only survive but thrive in a radically changing environment.”