Resilience and optimism at MECS+R Retail Congress

The 2020 Retail Congress hosted by the Middle East Council of Shopping Centres and Retailers gathers the region's retail real estate industry online around the theme of resilience and optimism. Held over two days from 26 to 27 October, the virtual format gives delegates from outside the region a new way to take part.

Peter Row, Founding Director, joins other retail real estate leaders contributing to the accompanying edition of Retail People magazine. Posing the question of which comes first, resilience or optimism, he reflects on the market shocks that have book-ended the past decade and on seeing COVID-19 as an accelerant rather than a change agent — the ground for optimism about an industry already reinventing itself around digital disruption.

This is the longest period I have not travelled in my career. Like many of us, the move online has opened new opportunities to engage more with our team, partners and clients. I am looking forward to connecting with peers in the Middle East from my office in Australia.
Peter Row, Founding Director, Vindico

Vindico Retail's own reinvention was under way before the pandemic, with a service and fee model that moved away from traditional procurement. Paul Mathews, Chief Operating Officer, says that as clients' task of juggling the deals, spaces and brands behind a successful opening gets harder in a volatile market, a productised approach fits their need for certainty better still.