CEOs' Perspectives From World Retail Congress

Yellow background with text that reads "A view from the top: a wrap-up of CEOs' perspectives from world retail congress by Charlie Wade"

World Retail Congress, held in Barcelona (April 25-27, 2023), featured CEOs from the largest retailers – both on stage and in the audience. VMLY&R COMMERCE was there to capture the conversations, the concerns, and the outlook for an industry that is key to Commerce.

The event focused on a retail future that is:

  1. RESILIENT – in the face of turbulence, such as Covid-19 and the Ukraine War (and no doubt other ‘x’ factors to come)
  2. PURPOSEFUL – particularly when it comes to environmental sustainability
  3. TRANSFORMATIONAL – this meant different things to different retailers, from back-office to front-facing, to AI
  4. CUSTOMER-FOCUSED – a constant, no matter the retailer And there was one other main point on the minds of the world’s leading retail CEOs:
  5. TALENT – where are the future leaders coming from, and how do we make retail a preferred career?

Download the World Retail Congress recap for a quick take on these themes.