Last month I had the opportunity to chair the Retail Day during the GITEX Technology event in Dubai, UAE. It was a unique experience and a fantastic opportunity to learn about retail challenges around the world.
I also was asked to invite some U.S.-based retail executives to speak at the event and was honored to share the experience with two amazing retail innovators:
- Scott Emmons, Head of the Innovation Lab at Neiman Marcus
- Ben Running, Director of the Jet Innovation Lab for Jet.com, a Walmart company
Emmons spoke about the latest technology innovations making their way into Neiman Marcus stores, including the expansion of the Memory Mirror into the sunglass and makeup sections of the store. He also introduced the new Snap. Find. Shop. feature of the Neiman Marcus mobile app, allowing shoppers to take a photo of a product, then view and purchase the item and/or similar items in real time.
Advertisement
Running talked about Service Design, and “how companies of all types can benefit from customer-centric methods, co-creative processes and a holistic product design approach.”
Additionally, both executives got a firsthand look at the Dubai retail scene, including malls that use an indoor ski resort and Ferrari World (along with generous air conditioning) as lures for consumers.
The other GITEX Retail Day speakers included:
- Sophia Amoruso, Founder, Girlboss Media
- Ian Khan, Technology Advisor and TEDx speaker
- Clinton O’Leary, Chief Commercial Officer, Yvolv
- Acile Sleiman, Retail, E-Commerce and Online Services, Google
- Paul Walsh, SVP – Platform Strategy & Innovation, VISA
- Branden Williams, SVP, MUFG
- Mansour Salameh, Client Solutions Manager, Facebook
In this article, Emmons and Running share their insights from the event and the visit to a unique and compelling city:
Perspectives On The GITEX Conference
Ben Running: The GITEX event, hosted by the Dubai World Trade Center, attracts 150,000 visitors and 5,000 exhibitors from nearly 100 countries — definitely something I wanted to be a part of. The conference was a departure from other events I’ve attended, which can be very narrowly focused on certain industries, markets and customers. I came away with a new understanding of the developing GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) market, and some talented new contacts who are working on big things.
The exhibitions were also unlike any other conference I’ve attended. You had all the big players you’d expect at a major tech conference, but also hundreds of startups from the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. There were companies with familiar ideas like car sharing and CRM, and startups solving problems particular to their region — issues like access to clean water, solar energy and recycling.
During the Retail Day, we got a look inside the creative innovation happening at Neiman Marcus, and we heard from Google’s retail head of the region, speaking on the changing face of e-Commerce in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. We saw a great overview of Alibaba and Yvolv’s cloud platform, and learned about Facebook‘s marketing and retail initiatives in the MENA region.
Scott Emmons: With the high concentration of luxury retail in Dubai, there was no shortage of opportunities to learn from other retailers and solution providers at the event. From my perspective as a retail technology innovator, I was able to learn about new display technologies and some amazing AR/VR capabilities on the horizon. It certainly qualifies as time well spent for any retailer looking to evolve with the changing retail landscape.
During the Retail Day, the audience was engaged and focused on the same retail headwinds we are talking about in the U.S. Speakers included Sophia Amoruso, the founder of Girlboss media. It was fascinating to learn how she journeyed from working out of her studio apartment to leading a brand that is making its mark on the world! The general theme for all speakers was retail innovation, and it was great to learn from leaders from all walks of the industry including Facebook, Visa and Jet.com.
Perspectives On Dubai
Emmons: The skyline in Dubai is like no other I’ve seen. The amazing thing is how many new buildings are under construction. It is evident that office capacity far exceeds current demand but almost every building is a showpiece. My focus was to visit the malls and check out the world-famous Dubai Luxury retail scene. I was not disappointed by what I saw.
Both the Dubai Mall and the Emirates Mall were hugely impressive. Both featured a major attraction: Dubai Mall has a world-class aquarium and the Emirates mall has their famous indoor ski resort. Plenty of wow factor to drive tourist traffic for sure. The malls were decked out with art and water features and the scale of these malls is really almost indescribable. There is a lot of technology, including the world’s largest 4K OLED video wall. Pretty much Disneyland for someone like me who focuses on innovative retail technology! Every major luxury brand is represented.
Because of the outdoor heat, the malls are a major gathering place for locals as well. That translated to restaurants and coffee shops looking busy, but I have to say that the shopping traffic in the retail stores was light on the days I visited. Based on the amount of retail I saw, I would say that they likely have too much retail square footage in relation to the amount of store traffic. I only got to see each on one day so that is just a suspicion!
I also got a chance to visit Abu Dhabi and the Yaz Mall, which features Ferrari World as its experiential draw for the tourist crowds. It is another world class luxury mall with all the beautiful trimmings and fixtures one would expect. The customer traffic here was also extremely light and once again I had the feeling that there is more retail here then customers to support it! It is obvious that no expense was spared on creating this mall. The air conditioning bill alone must be astronomical!
Running: My biggest surprise may have been Dubai itself. It was my first time visiting, and I was able to spend a couple of days exploring the city, from the historic Dubai Museum and souqs of Deira, the beaches and Palm Jumeirah, to the crazy huge downtown skyscrapers. The scale and the pace of development is hard to grasp, the city is growing at an amazing rate and constantly one-upping itself. I won’t miss the heat (the 100-degree days are what they called the “cool season”), but I’m glad I got to stay in the world’s tallest hotel, and made it to the top of the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building!
