Retail Conferences Take Center Stage At RECON MENA 2018

The Middle East Council of Shopping Centres hosts the largest retail conference in the region; themed “Future Proof Retail” in line with the shopping centre and retail industry which are continuously changing and evolving, driven by a new, dynamic, global transformation providing service, connectivity and convenience for customers. The Conference began on 28^th of October with preconference workshops, launch of Souks to Malls.

The 29^th of October, the official first day of the conference began with a welcome note and opening of the conference by MECSC’s CEO David Macadam, along with Master of Ceremonies Rania Ali along with a welcome address by Younus A Mulla – Chairman, MECSC & Marwan Eskandarani – Board President, MECSC.

The first keynote address of the day was by David Meerman Scott, Based in Boston, David is no stranger to the international speaker’s world having spoken in more than 40 countries. The acknowledged global expert in online marketing strategy, The New Rules of Marketing and PR, 5th Edition is his latest bestselling book. The day progressed to a panel discussion on “How to Make Cinema in the Shopping Centres Regionally Work?” the panelists included Cameron Mitchell – VOX Cinemas; John Davis – Colliers International; Mazen Qandeel – Granada Center & Ashish Shukla – Cinepolis; the session was moderated by VIC Bageria – Xpandretail powered by Sávant Data System.

The enigmatic Cornell Thomas, an International speaker, author, leadership coach, entrepreneur, Population Unplugged podcast host, Renzo Gracie blackbelt and a Ted X Speaker, made the second keynote address. The Panel discussion that followed was on “Future Proof Marketing” the panelists included Alex Andarakis – Andarakis Group; Nada Abou Saab – Majid Al Futtaim Properties; Stacy Mackler – LifeOnScreen USA, the session was moderated by David Meerman Scott. The afternoon progressed with a much needed panel discussion on “Environmental Mall Benchmarking Project. Why all Shopping Centres should be part of this project” the panelists included Sandrine Le Biavant – Farnek, Abdulla Al Wahedi – Emaar Properties & Faisal Ali Rashid – Dubai Supreme Council of Energy, the session was moderated by David Macadam – CEO MECSC.

The concluding panel discussion for the day took place on “What makes F&B sustainable in the retail environments of the MENA region shopping experience?” the panelists included Michael Hirschfield – Vice Chairman of National Retail Tenant Services JLL, Paul Firth – RTKL, Anoop Gopal – Americana & Daniel Parry – MD for Gulf Related; the session was moderated by Alexis Marcoux-Varvatsoulis  – Foodservice Consulting MENA, JLL.

RECon MENA 2018:

Date – 28^th – 30^th October 2018

Venue – Ritz Carlton Hotel, DIFC, Dubai, UAE

To register for RECON 2018: www.reconmena.com

Sponsors of RECon MENA 2018:

Platinum Sponsors: Arabian Oud, CELS Events LLC and Afkar Lighting Equipment Trading Co. LLC

Gold Sponsors:  Dalma Mall, Unified Asset & Property Management, Al Rajhi Investment, Line Investments and Property LLC, Gulf Related, Red Sea Mall, BackLite Media LLC, and Jeddah Park

Silver Sponsors: Oud Elite, V-Count Technology, Kinan International Real Estate Development, Retail Emotions, Al Hokair Group, Hamat Property Co., Al Othaim Real Estate Investment & Development Co., Al Othaim Leisure & Tourism, Tamdeen Group, BUZ Management Marketing Consulting, Granada Center, and Optifashion LLC

Bronze Sponsors: Yardi, Sharjah Investment and Development Authority (Shurooq), Blachere Illumination, Xpandretail Powered by Savant, JLL, LifeOnScreen Marketing Management, and ShopperTrak

Support Partners: CBRE, Dhamani, Reem Mall, Axis Communications, Crystal House Sharjah, In Logic IT Solution, Nearbuy Group, Oleander Flower, and The AZDEF Group/Azab Production Group FZE  

Media Partners: Selfie TV & Forbes