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Billionaire entrepreneur and Virgin Group Founder Sir Richard Branson has been announced as the keynote speaker of The Retail Summit 2019, an inaugural international event which is set to be held in Dubai on February 13th-14th 2019 in partnership with the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
The announcement was made during an exclusive launch event in Dubai which was hosted by the organisers of The Retail Summit and attended by more than 180 industry stakeholders, including top executives representing several leading retailers in the UAE.
Branson will join over 800 C-level executives, industry experts and professionals from around the world at the upcoming summit who will share their valuable insights and strategies for winning in today’s fast-changing retail landscape.
Other industry heavyweights who have confirmed their participation in The Retail Summit 2019 include Massimo Piombini, CEO, Balmain; Lyndon Cormack, Co-Founder, Herschel Supply Company; Patrick Chalhoub, Co-CEO, Chalhoub Group; Ken Meyer, EVP, Whole Food; and Chris Davis, VP Global Marketing, New Balance.
The Retail Summit 2019, set to be held at Dubai’s Atlantis Hotel, will provide an ideal platform for thought-provoking discussions covering a diverse range of topics spanning from digitalisation and technology to innovation and brand building.
During the launch event at Dubai’s Bulgari Hotel, H.E. Hamad Buamim, President and CEO of Dubai Chamber said: “We are proud and honoured to announce our partnership with The Retail Summit – a premier international conference that will bring together some of the most influential leaders in global retail. Dubai is an ideal setting to host this global summit as it remains one of the world’s top retail hubs, while the emirate continues to reinvent its retail offerings and experiences.”
H.E. Buamim revealed that the value of Dubai’s retail market grew to $35 billion in 2017, according to recent analysis from Dubai Chamber based on data from Euromonitor International. He noted that Dubai has the second highest mall density in the world, thanks to its high visitor to resident ratio, while the emirate accounts for nearly 49% of the total retail stock of malls in the UAE.
For his part, The Retail Summit’s CEO, Gary Thatcher said, “There is a demand for a gathering of global retailers bringing together c-suite executives to network, learn, and debate. As the pioneer of ‘retailtainment’, Dubai was the natural choice in location for a truly global and unique experience.”
Thatcher added: “We are connecting legacy retailers with the newer, disruptive organisations. This combination will provide a completely unique platform and industry perspective.”
The Retail Summit 2019 has been designed with global CEOs and their senior teams in mind, providing resources to develop responses to the consumer, technology and business model shifts that fundamentally transformed the global retail landscape.
Key sessions at the Summit will examine the “The Store of the Future”, “Gender Diversity in Retail” and many other timely matters through discussions with disruptors and industry leaders who will share their approach and perspectives on meeting evolving customer expectations minimising organisational costs and driving revenue growth.
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