JEDDAH, 1 February 2004 — The first Saudi Retail Forum will take place next month in Jeddah under the patronage of Makkah Governor Prince Abdul Majeed.
The two-day conference, which will be organized by the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce & Industry (JCCI) and the Jeddah Marketing Board (JMB) in conjunction with Middle East Economic Digest (MEED), will review trends and prospects of Saudi Arabia’s retail sector, the largest in the Arab world.
“We are very happy to host the first Saudi Retail Forum in the Kingdom in cooperation with the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Middle East Economic Digest,” said Amr Dabbagh, chairman of the Jeddah Marketing Board.
“Such an event brings together a number of distinguished international and regional companies in the retail industry and allows them to present their both their wide expertise and developments in the industry.”
The Saudi retail market presents a growing area of opportunity for expansion for both regional as well as international retailers.
However, challenges abound as a result of increasing globalization, market saturation, changing human resources requirements and evolving customer needs.
The demographics of the Kingdom, which has an annual population increase of around four percent, point to a rapidly expanding market for goods and services in the retail sector.
The Saudi Retail Forum will be the first event arranged in Saudi Arabian by MEED, which will organize about 20 conferences on various business topics throughout the Middle East in 2004.
“We are delighted to be working on this project with the JCCI and the JMB,” says Saudi Retail Forum chairman and MEED Editorial Director Edmund O’Sullivan.
“Retailing is a key service sector in any economy and the industry is creating employment and revenue throughout the Kingdom. Jeddah is Saudi Arabia’s retailing capital, so it is right that this conference should be held in the city.
The Saudi Retail Forum opens at the Jeddah Hilton on March 7, 2004.
