The event will focus on the technological exponential growth of retail, with 90 sessions and 100 speakers
Google, Ikea, British Airways and Carrefour, the first firms to confirm their attendance at the RBEWC
Directors and senior executives of leading global companies in the retail sector will attend the first RBEWC (Retail & Brand Experience World Congress). The event organisers have already confirmed the names of the first speakers, who will pool experiences and discuss the main challenges facing a sector which is undergoing a true technological revolution. Organized by Fira de Barcelona, the event is divided into six thematic areas (customer experience, omnichannel & digital, real state, retail technology, customization, new models of retail and trends) and eight sectors (fashion, high-turnover consumer goods, department stores and shopping centres, beauty, electronics, digital furniture and banking).
The most high-profile guests already confirmed include Alex Cruz, Chairman of British Airways, Barbara Martín Cópola, Director of IKEA’s digital division, Pascal Clouzard, Managing Director of Carrefour France, Fuencisla Clemares, General Manager of Google Iberia, and Bernd H. Schmitt, Professor of Marketing at the University of Columbia.
The congress will address topics such as improving customer experience by means of technology, retail in the food sector, the challenges of sustainability, the supply chain, fashion in the digital universe, omnichannel, customization, strategies to improve the effectiveness of shipments in online purchases, luxury e-commerce and the future of the property sector.
Alba Batiste, director of the Retail & Brand Experience World Congress, underlines that “we’re bringing together some of the foremost voices in the sector and the most innovative success stories so as to analyse, at a key moment in the transformation, how technological development is being applied within the different sub-sectors that make up the retail trade, as well as the main trends set to mark the future”.
Other names appearing in the first draft of the Retail & Brand Experience World Congress programme include: Florent Courau, JD.Com’s head of Operations in Europe, Juan Carlos Escribano, CEO of El Palacio del Hierro, Josep Ametller, founder of Casa Ametller, Juan Xavier Roca, former CEO of Falabella, Vipul Parekh, founder of Big Basket, Paulo Miugel Pereira Da Silva, President of Renova, José Ojeda, Director of Operations at Lyst, and María Garrido, the Havas Group’s Data and Analysis Director.
Exhibition area and startups
The event, which will be held from 27 to 29 May in Hall 2 of Fira de Barcelona’s Gran Via venue, will also have an exhibition area with 120 companies and space for 75 startups, 25 of which will take part in a competition to select the best newly-created companies. Organized by Fira de Barcelona,the first Retail & Brand Experience World Congress aspires to being a meeting point for companies that are developing the latest technological solutions and the main players involved in online sales, physical stores, major brands and retail companies.
Advisory committee with relevant membres
The RBEWC has appointed José Luis Nueno, consultant and professor at the IESE business school, as the Chairman of the steering committee, made up of members including: Bernard Meunier, CEO Europe Middle East, North Africa at Nestlé Purina PetCare; Sebastian Picardo, Investor and Advisor at Novus Ventures; Juvencio Maeztu, Deputy CEO and CFO at Ingka Holding BV; Javier Bach, COO at Puig Beauty and Fashion Group; Lisa Wright, Manager Director at PBA LPP; Alfonso Rodés, Deputy CEO at Havas Group; Luis Sans, President at Santa Eulalia; Enrique Fernández, CEO at Mvideo; Elena Foguet, Business Director Spain at Value Retail; Fuencisla Clemares, General Manager at Google Iberia; José María Bonmatí, General Manager at AECOC; Angelo Maranesi, Marketing & Management Professor at the University of Bologna; David Falk, Digital Technology Executive CEO at Motobuykers; Joaquim De Toca Andreu, President and CEO Spain & Portugal at Muji; Luis Buceta, CIO at Banco Alcalá; Julio Diaz Freijó, Founder of Vilacaiz; José María Folache, CEO at Tous; Jordi García Mercader, CEO at Via Emilia; Tony Ball, CEO at Quadrangle Investment; Eva Vila, Co-Founder of WeEQUAL; Juan Carlos Grijelmo, CEO at Mezcla; and Henry Rourke, Director at Hop Lun.
Barcelona, 14 January 2019