CROSSROADS
Riyadh, saudi arabia
2026 Annual Meeting: Where the people, policies and insights of retail come together.
On February 3 & 4, we bring together leaders from every corner of the retail industry to make headlines, deals, new connections and to explore the forces shaping the future.
New Challenges
New Paths to Growth
In a fragmented world marked by rising complexity and redrawn lines of growth, progress is no longer guaranteed—it must be co-created.
Building on the 2025 Forum’s call for renewed trust and collaboration, the 2026 RLC Global Forum advances that vision into a more urgent landscape — where global retail and consumer industries recalibrate, supply chains shift, and new growth markets take shape.
Business leaders now stand at a defining inflection point where coordinated, values-driven growth is essential. Growth Crossroads captures this moment of shared responsibility and strategic urgency.
To navigate this divided landscape, the Forum calls on leaders to rethink growth — through alignment, purpose, and cross-sector collaboration that defines the decade ahead.
2026 Themes
Growth is being redefined as new centers rise, trade routes shift, and alliances realign. How can leaders turn competition into collaboration by transforming uncertainty into innovation, investment, and new pathways for growth where adaptability is the ultimate advantage?
AI is becoming the ultimate force multiplier by amplifying innovation, efficiency, and creativity across retail, lifestyle and consumer-facing industries. How can leaders harness its compounding power to unlock new growth frontiers and shape more intelligent business ecosystems?
From Asia to the Middle East to Latin America, emerging markets are becoming engines of global demand, creativity, and capital. As new models of growth take shape, how can global and local leaders engage meaningfully with regions that are redefining the geography of opportunity?
Lifestyle, leisure, retail, and tourism are converging into one borderless ecosystem where experiences power connection, culture, and commerce. How can destinations, brands, and cities design experiences that shape identity and drive sustainable growth in a consumer-driven world?
Empowered by technology and guided by values, consumers are reshaping the rules of engagement across markets. As choice becomes mediated by AI and influence flows through digital ecosystems, how can businesses reimagine trust, relevance, and value in this new order of consumption?
Resilience helps organizations endure; regeneration enables them to evolve. As volatility becomes the norm, how can leaders move from recovery to reinvention by building models of growth that adapt, renew, and create long-term value for business and society?
2026
Themes
Growth in a
Reordered World
Growth is being redefined as new centers rise, trade routes shift, and alliances realign. How can leaders turn competition into collaboration by transforming uncertainty into innovation, investment, and new pathways for growth where adaptability is the ultimate advantage?
AI and the Power of Multipliers
AI is becoming the ultimate force multiplier by amplifying innovation, efficiency, and creativity across retail, lifestyle and consumer-facing industries. How can leaders harness its compounding power to unlock new growth frontiers and shape more intelligent business ecosystems?
The Global South as Growth Engine
From Asia to the Middle East to Latin America, emerging markets are becoming engines of global demand, creativity, and capital. As new models of growth take shape, how can global and local leaders engage meaningfully with regions that are redefining the geography of opportunity?
Experience as
Growth Infrastructure
Lifestyle, leisure, retail, and tourism are converging into one borderless ecosystem where experiences power connection, culture, and commerce. How can destinations, brands, and cities design experiences that shape identity and drive sustainable growth in a consumer-driven world?
The Future Consumer Order
Empowered by technology and guided by values, consumers are reshaping the rules of engagement across markets. As choice becomes mediated by AI and influence flows through digital ecosystems, how can businesses reimagine trust, relevance, and value in this new order of consumption?
Leadership Beyond Resilience
Resilience helps organizations endure; regeneration enables them to evolve. As volatility becomes the norm, how can leaders move from recovery to reinvention by building models of growth that adapt, renew, and create long-term value for business and society?
A Truly Global Platform
An Inclusive Multi-Stakeholder Global Conversation
An Inclusive
Multi-stakeholder
Global Conversation
2026 strategic partners
2026
strategic
partners
An exclusive event
Experience the 2026 RLC Global Forum for unrivaled networking, strategic insights, and high-impact content. To attend, please click “Request an Invitation” and complete the form. All submissions are reviewed by the RLC Global Forum team and are subject to final approval.
A Global Strategic
Partnership
A Global Strategic
Partnership
Since 2019, the RLC Global Forum has partnered with Wharton’s Jay H. Baker Retailing Center to ignite meaningful dialogue and drive forward innovation within the retail sector. Guided by a shared vision, this collaboration focuses on advancing the industry through curated C-suite engagements and impactful thought-leadership.
Together, we have built a vibrant community of retail leaders and influential stakeholders who are dedicated to addressing the sector’s complexities and embracing emerging possibilities. By fostering the exchange of ideas and expertise, this strategic alliance delivers actionable insights and forward-thinking solutions, empowering C-level executives to confidently navigate an ever-evolving retail landscape.
10+ years RLC
Since 2014, RLC has hosted over 15+ flagship events on 3 continents with 1,250+ of the world’s most influential CEOs, leaders, tech pioneers, entrepreneurs and policymakers as speakers.
2025 Annual Forum Key Stats
2025 Annual Forum
Key Stats
1
4
5
+
Speakers
5
2
%
C-level leaders
7
5
0
+
Companies
1,
8
0
0
Participants
What
thinks about RLC Global Forum
RLC stands as the foremost gathering
in this region, thoughtfully curated for
enterprises and visionary trailblazers.
What
thinks about RLC Global Forum
A meeting of visionaries and game-changers.
It’s truly remarkable how RLC combines rich thought
leadership with an unparalleled showcase of innovation.
What
thinks about RLC Global Forum
…… the best industry event to absorb
wisdom and insights from a diverse array
of leading CEOs and policymakers.
Rlc Honors
Rlc
Honors
The RLC Honors Lifetime Achievement Awards represent retail’s highest distinction, reserved for leaders whose career-defining contributions have reshaped the global marketplace. Each year, these prestigious awards recognize individuals who have transcended organizational boundaries, creating innovations and standards that elevate the entire industry.
rlc
honors
What to expect
Rooted in world-leading global insights and best-practices, the 2026 RLC Global Forum will decipher the state of retail around the world.
“Crossroads of Collective Progress” defines a new mandate for leadership in an era of uncertainty. Built on renewed trust and collaboration, it calls on global retail and consumer industries to recalibrate, shift supply chains, and unlock new growth—capturing a moment of shared responsibility and strategic urgency.
Hear from some of the world’s most powerful and influential voices critical insights and learn from news-making discussions.
Explore cutting-edge projects and solutions from leading companies showcasing their latest products in our hybrid exhibition space.
Attend strategic sessions focused on critical topics, providing deep dives into specific categories and industry trends.
Celebrate excellence at our Award Dinner, where key industry leaders are honored for their significant contributions to the retail sector.
Enhance your skills and knowledge through hands-on workshops designed to provide critical learning and practical insights.
Witness significant partnerships and agreements being sealed, showcasing collaboration and strategic growth within the industry
Participate in closed-doors, focused taskforce discussions with experts and peers, fostering in-depth dialogue and networking on critical issues.
Stay informed with the exclusive announcements and updates from industry leaders during our dedicated media briefings.
Partner with RLC
Level up your growth, reach your target audience, and strengthen your brand among a dedicated audience of industry leaders and key decision makers.
What’s On
Why was the theme “Crossroads of Collective Progress” chosen for the 2026 Annual meeting?
Insights
Stay updated on retail’s latest news, insights & trends with a focus on disruptive innovation. Powered by RLC Global Forum’s powerful, global community.
NextGen Retail Challenge
The NextGen Retail Challenge is a first-of-its-kind, industry led initiative launched by RLC Global Forum to support the long-term development of Saudi Arabia’s retail sector as a strategic national economic engine.
In partnership with Monsha’at, the Saudi Small and Medium Enterprises General Authority, and the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center at Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University PNU, this initiative provides a structured national platform to help shape retail’s future workforce and leadership pipeline.
in partnership with
The NextGen Retail Challenge is a first-of-its-kind, industry led initiative launched by RLC Global Forum to support the long-term development of Saudi Arabia’s retail sector as a strategic national economic engine.
In partnership with Monsha’at, the Saudi Small and Medium Enterprises General Authority, and the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center at Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University PNU, this initiative provides a structured national platform to help shape retail’s future workforce and leadership pipeline.
Ready to
Unlock Retail?
Q&A
Someone attending the RLC Global Forum Annual Meeting should expect an enriching environment where they can engage with top industry leaders and gain insights into the latest retail trends and strategies. The summit offers robust networking opportunities, allowing attendees to connect with peers and experts, fostering valuable business relationships. It’s an ideal platform for learning, sharing, and innovating among the brightest minds in the broad global retail sector.
The impact areas of the RLC Global Forum Annual Meeting focus on advancing retail and the broader interconnected industries leadership, enhancing strategic collaborations, and fostering innovation across the sector. The meeting serves as a catalyst for exchanging ideas and setting future retail trends, emphasizing the importance of leadership in shaping the industry’s agenda. These annual meetings are pivotal in promoting networking among all leaders and enhancing the collective knowledge and strategies of the community.
The RLC Global Forum Annual Meeting works towards its objectives through three key pillars:
Driving Positive Change: The meeting gathers influential leaders and innovators in environments that stimulate bold discussions, aiming to make impactful decisions that shape the future of the retail industry.
Cross-Industry and Multi-Stakeholder Engagement: By bringing together leaders from all parts of the retail value chain along with stakeholders like community groups and policymakers, the forum fosters collaborations that address critical industry challenges.
Global Platform with Local Focus: The forum strives to include diverse geographic perspectives while focusing on purpose-driven initiatives that are relevant to local communities, thus addressing long-term industry trends.
The theme “Growth Crossroads” was selected for the 2026 RLC Global Forum to the dual pressures and possibilities of this moment. It’s a call to action: to rethink how growth is pursued, who it serves and how it can be sustained in a more complex global environment.
As industries recalibrate and traditional models face mounting pressure, the Forum recognizes that progress must now be co-created through coordinated strategies across sectors and geographies.
Building on the 2025 Forum’s call for renewed trust and cross-sector collaboration, this year’s theme advances that vision into a more urgent context, where global retail and consumer industries recalibrate, supply chains shift, and new growth markets take shape.
It captures the urgency to rethink growth, realign priorities, and work collectively to shape the next chapter of global commerce.
The event is scheduled over the course of 2 days in Riyadh and will feature sessions on two plenary stages and in breakout rooms. It includes an extensive exhibition area for attendees to engage with partners, exclusive roundtables, and media booths for interviews with media partners. Additionally, the summit offers a VIP lounge for private meetings, a series of specialized workshops, and ample opportunities for in-depth dialogue and networking. This comprehensive setup ensures a dynamic environment for learning, collaborating, and building valuable connections.
The RLC Global Forum is an invite-only event, designed for senior leaders. Interested parties may request an invitation through the designated form on our website. All requests are reviewed by our team, and if approved, you will receive an official confirmation granting access to the summit. This process ensures a carefully curated group of attendees and a high-level environment for meaningful dialogue.
A dedicated app will be available and shared with confirmed attendees for logistics such as the agenda and the speakers as well as sponsors’ overview, networking capabilities and real-time announcements.
You can stay connected through the official website and social media channels for updates and information on future events
