Here's What To Expect From This Year's World Retail Congress

As retail bankruptcies peak and shopping trends increasingly favor Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN, industry leaders are gearing up for a fight. Retail and startup heads around the world will converge with global stakeholders to discuss the future of retail and consumer engagement at the 11th annual World Retail Congress Tuesday through Thursday.

A Look To The World Retail Congress

With a theme of “Reimagining the Customer Experience,” the Dubai-based conference will address shifting consumer trends and highlight innovative solutions.

The lineup of 152 presenters includes Macy’s Inc M Chairman Terry Lundgren, PVH Corp PVH CEO Manny Chirico, and senior members of Lululemon Athletica inc. LULU, Wal-Mart Stores Inc WMT and The Coca-Cola Co KO.

It also features guests from companies not necessarily known for retail activity, including Alphabet Inc GOOG GOOGL, International Business Machines Corp. IBM and Facebook Inc FB.

United Arab Emirates Minister of Economy H.E. Sultan Al Mansoori, World Trade Organization Deputy Director General Yonov Frederick Agah and a United Nations representative are among those speaking on the macroeconomic and environmental effects of retail trade.

The conference will close with the World Retail Awards on Thursday and will honor top finalists in categories such as best advertising campaign and responsible retailer of the year.

Leading into the conference, the SPDR S&P Retail (ETF) XRT was trading down about 1.52 percent Monday around a rate of $41.60.

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