73rd International Retail Summit
7 – 8 September 2023
Rethink Retail: Be Bold, Stay Focused, Earn Trust
Money is now becoming scarce. The pandemic destroyed supply chains and consumer sentiment, the war in Ukraine is causing energy shortages and high inflation. Consumers are becoming more price sensitive. And while some companies are downsizing their workforce, others are desperately looking for employees.
What should retailers do when costs rise and margins shrink? Streamline offerings, robotise services, stop sustainability initiatives? Optimise the present now – or invest in the future? What to do? And even more importantly, what not to do?
"More focus!" is the magic formula. For retailers, this means setting bold priorities, implementing rigorous decisions and taking responsibility: not just for the shelves, but also for the people – customers and employees – in order to build trust.
At the 73rd International Retail Summit, we will explain why the ability to focus is one of the most important management competencies in retailing. Thought leaders, retail pioneers and top managers will discuss questions such as:
- Less is more: How does streamlining the focus help retailers to become more employee- and customer-centric?
- Curating versus reacting: Do successful retailers shape customers’ preferences through their assortments – or do they merely address existing customer needs better than the competition?
- Product, service or experience: What do retailers need to focus on when customer journeys become immersive experiences between physical and digital worlds?
- Human versus machine: How does a human-centred approach focusing on customers’ and employees’ needs unlock the true potential of automation?
- Way out of the crisis: Which innovations really help retailers thrive in the recession?
The International Retail Summit will be held in German and English (with simultaneous interpretation).
Hashtag: #iht23
Speakers
Galloway is Professor of Marketing at NYU’s Stern School of Business and a serial entrepreneur. He was named one of the world’s best business professors by Poets & Quants. Scott has founded nine companies, including Prophet, RedEnvelope, L2, and Section School, where he also teaches. He is the New York Times–bestselling author of The Four, The Algebra of Happiness, Post Corona and Adrift: America in 100 Charts. Scott has served on the boards of directors of The New York Times Company, Urban Outfitters, Berkeley’s Haas School of Business, Panera Bread, and Ledger. Across his Prof G and Pivot podcasts, No Mercy / No Malice newsletter, and his YouTube channel, Scott reaches millions. He has won multiple Webby and Best Podcast awards, and his books have been translated into 28 languages.
Alter is the author of "Anatomy of a Breakthrough: How to Get Unstuck When It Matters Most," a guide to breaking free from the thoughts, habits, jobs, relationships, and even business models that prevent us from achieving our full potential. His two previous New York Times bestsellers are "Irresistible" and "Drunk Tank Pink.” Alter’s research has been published in the most renowned academic journals, and featured in dozens of TV and radio shows around the world. In addition to the New York Times, he has also written for the New Yorker, Washington Post, Atlantic, WIRED, Slate, Huffington Post, Popular Science, and many more.
Dieter Meier became internationally known as the singer of the electropop duo Yello. He worked worldwide for decades as a director, actor and musician before becoming an entrepreneur in organic farming. In the late 1990s, he bought the Ojo de Agua estate in Argentina and 2,200 hectares of land outside Buenos Aires, producing organic wine, beef and natural products.
Kaser has been working for 25 years in various positions at the SPAR Austria Group, which runs business in Austria and 7 neighbouring countries, employs over 91,000 people and generates sales of over 18.6 bn Euro. From 2012, he was managing director of INTERSPAR, the business unit for the Hypermarkets.
He has been a member of the board of the SPAR-AG since 2021.
Janik has been Chairwoman of the Executive Board of Microsoft Germany since 2020. Since 2015, she was Country General Manager of Microsoft Switzerland. Prior to that, she had been for four years a member of Microsoft Germany’s Leadership Team, where she was responsible for the areas of public administration, education, and healthcare.
The former president of El Corte Inglés, Europe's largest department store chain, has realised a futuristic concept in Madrid: the "Wow Concept" department store. On six floors, technology products, fashion and home decoration are sold in a variety of aesthetic themes. It focuses on the experience that results from the interaction with digital gadgets and with employees.
The Ocado Group provides end-to-end online grocery fulfilment solutions to some of the world’s largest retailers, and maintains a 50% share in online grocery business Ocado Retail. David Shriver has served in the retail industry for 35 years in companies such as the German online pet food retailer Zooplus, French Groupe Carrefour or Credit Suisse First Boston.
After graduating with a Master's degree in Business Administration from the University of St. Gallen, Kilian Wagner worked for McKinsey & Company in Zurich before founding the Swiss eyewear label in 2013. Today, he sells his products in six countries in over 50 flagship stores, more than 40 partner stores and online retail. The company has over 400 employees and over 200,000 customers.
Rachel Shechtman is a fourth-generation retail entrepreneur and founder of Story, a concept store known for its editorial, ever-changing approach to retail. After seven years and 44 different ‘themes’, in April 2018, Shechtman sold Story to Macy’s Inc. where she served as Brand Experience Officer until July 2020. She sits on the Board of Directors of the National Retail Federation (NRF) and CAMP, an experiential family retail concept and media company. Shechtman has been ranked among the most creative people in business by Fast Company, Fortune Magazine and Ad Age.
Rucker has more than 20 years of management and consulting experience in the retail sector. Among other positions, he served as Managing Director and Partner at the Boston Consulting Group, A.T. Kearney, and the Metro Group. The sporting goods retailer Sportscheck operates 33 stores in Germany and three online stores in the DACH region.
Kunkel is the Chief Investment Officer for Germany and Austria and responsible for optimizing the investment strategies for Ultra High Net Worth clients globally at UBS Global Wealth Management. He is an expert in economic forecasts, macroeconomic trends and global market developments.
Portas became a board member at Harvey Nichols before founding her creative consultancy. Her BBC series “Mary Queen of Shops” premiered in 2007. Her podcast series include “Beautiful Misfits” and the business podcast “The Kindness Economy”. Portas is the author of “Rebuild: how to thrive in the new Kindness Economy” (2021).
After a Masters in Business Administration, Ingvill Kerob worked in the food industry in London and spent five years in Zurich in project management and innovation for brands such as Toblerone, Milka and Suchard. From there she led the introduction of the circular economy for Nespresso in the Nordic countries to ensure better use of resources such as aluminium. She then founded Repairable, a company implementing circular economy in the textile industry.
Martine Postma is a Dutch environmentalist and former journalist who has been promoting sustainability at the local level since 2007. Postma organised the very first Repair Café in Amsterdam in 2009. This was the occasion to set up the foundation "Stichting Repair Café". This Dutch non-profit organisation has been offering professional support to local groups at home and abroad who want to open their own Repair Café. There are now 2790 Repair Cafés worldwide with around 41,000 volunteers and over 50,000 repaired items per month.
Trigo builds AI-powered infrastructure for retail stores that provides frictionless shopping and automated operations. Yair has more than 25 years of experience in top executive leadership roles and in heading business teams and initiatives across industries. Most recently, he served as the President of EMEA & APJ at Stratasys and, before that, as CEO of Jacada.
Reckon builds AI operated, cashierless, smart stores that can be easily set up in any location – from airports to offices, train stations, and hotel lobbies. The software platform combines Artificial Intelligence, product recognition, cameras and sensors.
Johannes Bauer
Head Think Tank
Gottlieb Duttweiler Institute
Switzerland
In his research, Bauer examines changes in consumer and purchasing behaviour, the future of retail against the backdrop of long-term consumer, technology and business model trends, as well as the opportunities and risks of digitalisation for business and society. Before joining GDI, he worked as a marketing professor and management consultant.
Moderator
Programme
Thursday, 7 September
09.30
Welcome coffee
10.00
Welcome
Lukas Jezler, CEO, Gottlieb Duttweiler Institute
Carolin Roth, Moderator
Johannes Bauer, Head of Think Tank, Gottlieb Duttweiler Institute
«Going Shopping» is Dead
Why time design is a crucial success factor in retailing.
Max Kunkel, Chief Investment Officer, UBS
Economic Outlook: What Comes After Inflation?
How geopolitical conflicts and economic changes affect economic and purchasing power.
Markus Kaser, Chief Purchasing, Marketing and IT Officer, Spar Austria
The Foundation of Action: Success Requires Responsibility!
Why retailers must act on behalf of their customers.
Matthias Rucker, CEO, SportScheck
Sports Retail Rethought: The Path to the Experience Brand
When platform and community are more important than shelves and clicks.
12.00
Networking lunch
13.30
Keynote and discussion (via livestream)
Scott Galloway, Professor for Marketing, Stern School of Business, New York University
The Future of Retail: Trends and Opportunities
Exploring the key trends and innovations shaping the industry.
Kilian Wagner, Co-founder and CEO, Viu
All Eyes on Glasses: An Industry Rethought
From online brand to 50 shops and half a million sales in ten years: insights and an outlook from a rule breaker.
Mary Portas,
Broadcaster, Author and Founder, The Portas Agency
People, Planet, Profit: The Case for Beautiful Business
A triple bottom line approach to drive innovation and growth in retail.
15.15
Break
15.45
Ingvill Kerob, Co-founder, Repairable
Toolsourcing: The Infrastructure for Repair in Retail
Martine Postma, Founder, Repair Café International (via livestream)
Second Life: Community Building by Fixing Stuff
Panel discussion with Ingvill Kerob and Martine Postma
Make It Your Shelf: Retail's Role in the Repair Revolution
Opportunities and obstacles of the maintenance market.
David Shriver, Chief Reputation Officer, Ocado Group
The Power of Storytelling: Building Trust and Creating Value
How to shape the 24/7 conversation to protect and enhance a company's reputation.
Keynote
Adam Alter, Professor of Marketing, Stern School of Business, New York University
The Friction Audit: Achieving Breakthroughs in Business and in Life
What science – alongside elite athletes, artists, musicians, and entrepreneurs – can teach us about getting unstuck on the path to success.
As of 17.45
Indian Summer Dinner
Friday, 8 September
9.00
Keynote
Marianne Janik, Chairwoman of the Executive Board, Microsoft Germany
Next Tech: A Future Outlook
What current technological developments such as generative artificial intelligence implicate for companies, employees and customers.
Guy Yair, Chief Revenue Officer, Trigo
Frictionless Shopping: When Tech Transforms the Supermarket
Ana Pinto, Founder and CEO, reckon.ai
Everywhere Shopping: Grab and Go in a Box
Panel discussion with Guy Yair and Ana Pinto
Autonomous Shopping: Retail Is Necessary – Retailers Are Not?
Opportunities and challenges of automated stores.
10.20
Break
10.50
Dimas Gimeno Álvarez, CEO, WOW Concept
Let's Get Phygital: The Next Frontier of Department Stores
How to use digital and emotional connections to attract the new "Generation C".
Rachel Shechtman, Founder, Story, and Member of the Board of Directors, Camp
Experience Retail: Integrating Content, Community and Commerce
How storytelling turns a shop into an experience.
Keynote conversation
Dieter Meier, Artist, Entrepreneur and Investor
Out of Chaos
How to manage to keep reinventing yourself as an artist and entrepreneur and stay one step ahead of the zeitgeist.
12.30 – 14.00
Networking lunch
Information
Date
7 - 8 September 2023
Language
German and English, with simultaneous interpretation
The programme is subject to change. Should an event not take place, the participation fee will be refunded. Further claims are ruled out.
If you are unable to attend, please cancel your registration in writing. The participation fee will be refunded up to thirty days before the event. After that and up to five full working days before the event, we will charge 75%, and for cancellations after that we will charge the full amount. A substitute participant is always welcome.
Hotel reservation
To benefit from special rates at our partner hotels, please mention the code IHT2023 when booking your room.
Hotel Sedartis, Thalwil: info@sedartis.ch
Hotel Belvoir, Rüschlikon: info@hotel-belvoir.ch
Hotel Ibis, Adliswil: welcome@ibiszurich.ch
Arrival
From Zurich Airport
A taxi will take you to the GDI and the partner hotels in around 45 minutes at around CHF 100, depending on traffic. The S-Bahn will take you quickly and conveniently to Zurich and Thalwil station.
From Thalwil train station
A free shuttle bus is available for transfers between Thalwil train station / Hotel Sedartis and the GDI. It waits on the lake side of the station. A member of staff will welcome you on the spot.
Thursday, 7 September
Thalwil train station - GDI: 08.00 - 08.45, every 15 minutes
GDI - Thalwil train station: 17.15 - 19.00, as required
Friday, 8 September
Thalwil train station - GDI: 08.00 - 08.45, every 15 minutes
GDI - Thalwil train station: 12.30 - 14.00, as required
Hotel Belvoir is within walking distance of the GDI.
The car park is a five minute walk from the GDI and located on Zürcherstrasse 4, 8803 Rüschlikon. You will receive a ticket from the GDI to exit the car park free of charge.
Fees
2 days, 1 person:
Full fee: CHF 2500
20 % early-bird discount until 15 June 2023: CHF 2000
2 days, as of 2 persons:
Full fee: 2125 CHF per person
Cumulative with the early-bird discount until 15 June 2023: CHF 1625 per person
Please enter the code IHTMENGENRABATTF on sign-up.
1 day, per person:
Full price: CHF 1500
20 % early-bird discount until 15 June 2023: CHF 1200
Startups:
2 days: CHF 800
1 day, CHF 600
Please ask for the discount code at iht@gdi.ch
The conference fee includes all food and beverages. Payments less than two weeks before the event can be made by credit card only.
Participants' list
The list will be sent by email shortly before the conference.
Documentation
The photo gallery, interviews, videos and presentations of the speakers will be made available shortly after the conference.
About the International Retail Summit
The International Retail Summit is one of the international community’s leading strategy platforms for decision-makers and thought leaders in the retail and consumer goods industries. Participants are decision-makers from retail and related industries, entrepreneurs, academia and journalists from Swiss and European quality media.
Participants
Executives
Speakers
Testimonials
Inspiration is crucial for transformation. The broad mix of topics at the GDI Retail Summit makes it possible to think outside the box and guarantees stimulating conversations during the networking breaks.
Every year I look forward to the interdisciplinary exchange with great participants and the fantastic selection of international speakers. The mix of very experienced companies and start-ups always provides impulses that enrich our business.
Past conferences
Advisory Board
Simonetta Carbonaro
Consumer psychologist, professor in Humanistic Marketing and Design Management and an internationally recognized thought leader of the consumer goods industry. She is the cofounder of REALISE, a strategic consulting company specialized in brand direction, and strategic design management.
Caroline Drucker
Vice President Marketing and Operations at Photomath. Previously, Drucker was Director EMEA Strategic Partnerships at Instagram and Global Brand Manager at Etsy. She was the first Product Manager at community-driven music platform SoundCloud. Her career began in publishing, where she played a key role in establishing VICE magazine in the German market and developed the digital strategy for the relaunch of Freitag, a national weekly newspaper.
Stephan Fetsch
Partner, Deal Advisory-Valuation, EMA Head of Retail at KPMG. Fetsch is responsible for the retail sector at KPMG Germany and KPMG Europe. In this function, his main focus lies on business planning, corporate valuation, intangible assets, joint venture as well as value-based decision making and transaction consulting.
Michel Gruber
Head of the Retail Department and member of the General Management of the Federation of Migros Cooperatives. Before joining Migros, Michel Gruber held various positions at Valora for nine years, most recently as Managing Director of Valora Food Service Switzerland.
Dominique Locher
As an entrepreneur, angel investor, creative promoter and innovator, Dominque Locher accompanies companies such as Edeka, Utkonos, Farmy.ch, Bring! or LuckaBox into the digital world. As a board member of the Swiss Retail Federation, he drives digitalization in Swiss retail. He helped build LeShop.ch, one of the first online supermarkets in the world, and led the company as CEO until 2017.
André Maeder
Group Managing Director at The KaDeWe Group. Maeder looks back on a long and international retail career. His focus has been on premium and luxury brands. At Harrods, he was Chief Operational and Merchandise Officer, at Hugo Boss MOB and Head Global Retail. As Chief Retail Officer, Maeder als worked for Karstadt.
Mariann Wenckheim
Co-Active Leadership Coach for Entrepreneurs and Organisational and Relationship Coach. Wenckheim is also an Executive Master in Change at INSEAD. Previously, Wenckheim was a partner and board member of 20.20, a strategic design consultancy for the retail and leisure industries.
Impressions
Slides and presentation videos (password protected area)
Conference report
Impressions from the 73rd International Retail Summit
Date & Time
Thursday
7 September 2023
Friday
8 September 2023
Location
GDI Gottlieb Duttweiler Institute
8803 Rüschlikon
Switzerland