Voice on Demand - Retail Podcast by MECS+R

Have you ever wondered how travel marketers and tourists approach summer and spring content planning? As the travel restrictions in most regions are now gradually being limited, individuals are
now making use of destination marketing strategies to make considerable changes to their messaging plans and content.
The significance of destination marketing indeed cannot be denied in the current era. Don’t you think so? However, a significant portion of individuals still seems to be unaware of this crucial marketing aspect.

This podcast will primarily focus on enlightening the importance of destination marketing, its correspondence with communication skills, and how one can use distinct marketing strategies to gather fresh ideas, inspiration, productivity, and ultimately growth in the long run.

So, stay with us as we dive into the various crucial aspects of destination marketing in detail in this podcast with Mr. Waleed Al-Toukhi, Marketing Executive Director from Abdullah Al Othaim Investment Co. ! And you will certainly learn valuable strategies that might help you broaden your horizons and evaluate your long-term progress.

There is a lot of talk about channels, digital-first, and hybrid but the reality is 70% of what you sell is sold by someone else either in person or online. With the rediscovery of stores as the anchor for customer adoption, and being the face of the brand, how you look at your employees has never been more important.

With millions leaving the service industry from hospitality, restaurant, and retail what will it take to keep those associates? What is it they crave and what needs to change in 2022 as retail rears back to life? Hint: it isn’t picking and shipping online orders.

That’s because there is one thing that brick-and-mortar retailers can do that by design online retailers won't ever do. In this fast-paced session, Bob outlines the startlingly simple but mostly overlooked insight that will help you to not just grow your profitability but reinvent your business as a whole.

While the D2C selling model is becoming popular among brands and product companies, there are several supply chain challenges and complexities involved for businesses in this space. Logistics and supply chain management can make or break a Direct-to-Customers buying experience. On this episode we will cover the challenges, opportunities and threats for a D2C Model.

With Raju Dedhia head of Pre-Sales and Enterprise Solution at Vinculum

How do you plan for a rebound that may or may not come? How do you drive your corporate strategy going forward? Technology, changing business models, adapting quickly to pandemics, and updates to services and offerings in the evolving market conditions. The role of a CEO has never been as complicated as it is today.

Making strategic decisions based on evolving conditions in the retail industry and consumer behaviors requires a steady vision and faith.

On this episode we have invited two distinguished retail professionals and representatives of Semir Group, Chris Attwel & Lucy Lu. We will talk about the rapid expansion of Semir Group globally and they will help us understand how they were able to do it so fast.

Semir Group in 2020, achieved a total revenue of US$2.3 billion and profit of US$124 million. By 2021, their footprint consisted of 3,000 stores for the Semir brand in China, another 4,800 stores for the children’s brand balabala and more than 50 POS’ outside China.

What changed in the retail business over the last 15 years? We invited Bob Poline, President of Bob Poline Associates Inc. to help us understand what is happening in our industry. Together with his expertise of 41 years as a retail professional, we discuss retail's evolution, future trends, and what kind of people would businesses need to actually "have a future".

Learn in depth of what is Omnichannel Retailing. How the evolution of Omnichannel Retailing impact the retail industry. What are the opportunity / benefits of Omnichannel Retailing from some of the case studies of brands with a brilliant omnichannel strategy.

Member Guest: Venkat Nott, Founder CEO, Vinculum Group

FEC's or Family entertainment centres, rapidly became the anchor tenants across the globe in different shopping centres in the past several years. And simply because it became an essential element to provide the experience inside malls. With the advancement of technology, a dream for most people has become a reality recently, and that is Virtual Reality. We invited Mr. Frederic Fittousi - MD of Virtual Centre today, to explain to us the future of retail-entertainment. Frederic@virtualcenter.ae, www.virtual-center.com 

Mr. Phil McArthur, a member of MECS+R since 1996, will discuss on this episode about the best practices and the how to's on developing retail assets correctly. Mr. Phil have developed and advised many shopping centres that are now successful today, including but not limited to, MAF Shopping Malls, Citystars Cairo, Al Futtaim Malls and more.

With Habil Ahmed Khan, Director of Operations for The Gulberg Mall & Signature Living in Islamabad, Pakistan. We had a lovely discussion about the vast opportunities of retailing in Pakistan. How the increasing tourism will affect the retail industry. And why the country is getting more and more attention from tourists in a global scale.

Do you want to know more? Contact publishing@mecsc.org

Learn about today's business model challenge, building a resilient enterprise, why resilience is important and how to become a more resilient company.

Let's hear from Mohammad Alawi, CEO and partner of REDS Real Estate Development Solutions in Jeddah. REDS thrives to help fill the gaps in the kingdom’s real estate market by introducing unique commercial/mixed-use real estate products that are interlaced with the end user’s day to day life.

FOOD+DESIGN+SERVICE (Excellence) = SALES + MANAGEMENT = ASSET GROWTH

Francis Loughran, founding director of Future Food, specialising in Food, Restaurant and Hospitality Consultancy shares his insights on the importance of hospitality mindset to reinvigorate the hospitality industry.

-Using solid and relevant data and personal experience to master planning a customer-centric food and hospitality mix
-Calculating sustainable volumes of food and hospitality to ensure MAT maximization, a balanced mix and future proofing order to reduce risk
-Develop a mix that reflects a range of authentic and passionate-food operators - local, national and international
-Proven food and hospitality operators that understand the values and vision of the mall project and implement the business of food approach to the business case and creativity of passionate foodies. Food and design are inseparable – design to succeed and budget accordingly

Bob Phibbs is an internationally recognized business strategist, customer service expert, sales coach, marketing mentor, author of three books, and motivational business speaker.

In 1994, Phibbs started his retail consulting company, The Retail Doctor. His clients include some of the largest retail brands in the world including Bernina, Brother, Caesars Palace, Hunter Douglas, Lego, Omega, Hearts on Fire, Vera Bradley and Yamaha.

One of the top retail influencers of 2018 and a Top Voice on LinkedIn, Phibbs is also an American Express merchant advisor, IBM retail futurist, and RetailWire BrainTrust partner.

He has appeared on ABC, Fox, MSNBC, PBS and he and his work have been featured in articles in Entrepreneur, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. He performs business makeovers for the Los Angeles Times.

With over 30 years experience beginning in the trenches of retail and extending to senior management positions, Phibbs has been a corporate officer, franchisor, and entrepreneur. He received the highest increase in sales from South Coast Plaza, at that time the highest grossing mall in the USA.

How did the covid-19 pandemic changed customer’s behavior? On this episode with Alyssa Almaiahi, Creative Director of Mint Stalk Creative and Digital Agency, let’s explore the changes and effective marketing strategies to which combines online and in-store tactics to drive sales and loyalty.

Brought to you by the Middle East Council of Shopping Centres and Retailers. Do you want to know more? To reach out to Alyssa, contact their Mint Stalk UAE office on +971 58 504 8627 or send her an email directly at Alyssa@mintstalk.com

David is the author of the book ‘Why Customers Leave (and How to Win Them Back)’ In his session, he will talk about your changing customers with the recent shift in mindset and expectation, how it has affected the retail industry and provide solutions and strategies to drive, retain and attract customers.

This episode with Albert Correya from Becomap. Know how business can revive and prevail despite the on-going challenges and how omni-channel presence is going to be the future of retail. Understand how proximity marketing is going to be a game changer. And explore why it has an incomparable increase in conversion rate for retail when compared to other model. www.mecsc.org www.retailcongressmena.com

Explore retailing in Iraq and its opportunities with MECS+R Member, Ihsan Zangana, Managing Director of IZ Developments. Ihsan heads the development of the upcoming Mall of Kirkuk in Erbil, Iraq. With the recent developments in the economy of the country, retail has seen significant changes in its trends. Consumers are also seeking more options for brands. How do we take advantage of these opportunities? Let us explore this topic today, only at the VOD Retail Podcast by the Middle East Council of Shopping Centres & Retailers.