October 19, 2021
Rejuvenating retail
In Season 2, Episode 4 of empowerME Conversations podcast, host and Atlantic Council empowerME Director Amjad Ahmad speaks with Majid Al Futtaim CEO Alain Bejjani about the future of retail in the Middle East, consumer desires for more modern and fulfilling experiences, and policies that will promote talent from the inside and economic growth.
The free flow of people, goods, services, capital, and data is essential to economic growth and development, regardless of industry, business, or sector. COVID has reinforced that fact.”
Key Takeaways
0:00 Intro
1:13 Alain talks about the pandemic and what he is now seeing post pandemic given that he operates in different countries and its impact on business in the Middle East
5:20 Alain explains if the pandemic was the turning point of the economy especially in the Middle East region
12:19 Alain talks about the key areas that people need to focus on to keep the momentum of growth going and to even accelerate it especially in the Middle East
19:32 Alain talks about the importance of regional integrations and how he feels about where it’s headed to especially in the Middle East region
21:10 Alain talks about the consumer trends that he is seeing in the Middle East region that have come up due to the pandemic
29:35 Alain also talks about retail, how the retail space is changing, how he sees retail going forward and if it’s dying
36:35 Alain shares his thoughts evolving around the digital entrepreneurship that’s happening and how he sees that playing out
39:43 Alain talks about the lessons that he has learnt through the failures that he has encountered
41:44 Alain shares his advice to other entrepreneurs and also talks about the spaces to invest in that would be good for business
Find the empowerME podcast on the app of your choice
The empowerME Conversations podcast features conversations with business and government leaders shaping the Middle East. The podcast sheds light on key opportunities and challenges for companies and governments, and Season 2 will focus on CEOs in the region.
