DISTREE Middle East 2015 will include a full line-up of Retail Academy workshop sessions for vendors, distributors and retailers to attend. All participating delegates will have the opportunity to pre-register for the sessions they wish to attend, which will then be added to their unique personal agenda for the event. DISTREE Middle East is the premier annual event for senior executives involved in the region’s technology and consumer electronics retail channel.
Farouk Hemraj, Director and Co-Founder at DISTREE Events, said: “The Retail Academy workshop sessions at DISTREE Middle East are a unique opportunity to get real insight into specific retail channel issues. It is a chance to get up to speed on the latest retail concepts and discuss current business challenges; an opportunity to get new ideas and participate in discussions.”
DISTREE Middle East 2015 takes place in the exclusive surroundings of the Fairmont Bab Al Bahr in Abu Dhabi from May 12th to 14th. Speakers from Event Partner GfK; Content Partners Extrius, FFD, Navo and Quadmark; plus Media Partner Channel EMEA, will host this year’s sessions. The full line-up of workshops is:
- New Retail Concepts – Features and Functions are giving way to Fashion and Fitness. With the rapid merger of lifestyle and technology, the future of electronics retail will probably owe more to Dolce & Gabbana than to Hewlett Packard. What does this mean for our business? This workshop offers an interactive discussion about the trends upending the digital retail markets, and what the Middle East channel can learn from innovative brands and retailers around the world. Hosted by Ryan Mackey.
- African Channel Insights – Ahead of DISTREE Africa 2015, which takes place in June, this session provides an overview of current channel landscapes in Africa. Learn more about market conditions, growth opportunities and increase your business understanding of this fast-growing region. Hosted by Sumant Saran, CEO at Extrius Consulting.
- GfK SCM Insights: Navigating the Value Chain and Optimising Business Opportunities – Markets are more challenging, volatile and less predictive than ever. GfK will illustrate how vendors and distributors are able to navigate their value chain to optimise their indirect business model at every single stage within the market and product lifecycle. Learn how to optimise pricing, demand and distribution. GfK will provide a comprehensive level of knowledge on SCM.
- Future Retail Commerce: Reshape, Sustain & Adapt – This workshop will cover the dynamically changing retail landscape assessing opportunities and potential threats, plus omnichannel dynamics. Business challenges and way forward for the retail channel will be discussed. The session will include infographic scenarios of regional e-commerce and a ‘how to’ approach to delivering the right omnichannel (online and in-store) experience. Hosted by K.S. Vasudevan, managing director at Navo.
- MMR Insights: The Changing Retail Channel Landscape – A deep dive into the Middle East Retail Academy (MERA) Monthly Monitor Report (MMR) looking at which vendors are most influential at a retail level by product category. This session will also explore how the retail landscape is changing in major Middle East markets, the role of generalists and specialists, plus the impact of special sales events on retail channel health. Session hosted by Channel EMEA’s Stuart Wilson.
- Smart Home Solutions Overview – This workshop will provide a comprehensive overview of smart home solutions making an impact in the market. This session will give you an understanding of the benefits that smart home solutions offer consumers and a feel for the latest market trends. Enhance your understanding of the different technologies and learn about the major solutions available and the key players shaping this fast-growing category. Hosted by Benoit van den Bulcke, Director, French Federation of Home Automation (FFD)
- New Retail Channel Models for 2015 – Hosted by Michael White, general manager of channel and sales enablement consultancy Quadmark in EMEA. This session will explore the fragmentation of traditional retail channel models, which has been compounded by the explosion of new product categories. This continues to challenge traditional profitability structures and raises ongoing questions related to channel compensation models.
- GfK Insights: IoT & Smart Home – How Household Appliances Fit the Concept. Are smart devices really making our homes safer, smarter, and more connected? Are customers really buying this story? GfK will highlight the fastest growing technology markets in the Middle East region: household appliances. Double digit growth rates and an increasingly high-end market offers new business opportunities for distribution and at the point of sale (POS). GfK will take you on a journey through the new trends.
Hemraj added: “The Retail Academy workshop programme forms an important part of the overall DISTREE Middle East experience, in addition to the core one-on-one meetings. It allows delegates to increase their skill set and understanding of current and future business trends.”
“It also enables them to see how the Middle East retail channel compares to other regions around the world, and get up to speed on the impact new and emerging product categories will have in the market,” he added.
Huawei, Linksys and Quantum are Platinum Sponsors of DISTREE Middle East 2015; Acer, Brightstar, Gadgitech, HP and Max Electronics are Gold Sponsors; Ctroniq, June, Mercantile and TP-LINK are Silver Sponsors. Samsung is Retail Innovation Partner for the event.
