LeWimLex Show - E-Commerce Movers & Shakers

Robert Bueninck, CEO of Unzer Group, discusses the evolving payments landscape, e-commerce trends, skepticism around cryptocurrencies, and the future of cash in Germany's digital shift.

In this episode of Commerce Talks, Gergana K. Abdulrahman discusses her journey with Wild Fabrik, a sustainable marketplace based in Dubai. She shares insights on the company's origins during the COVID-19 pandemic, its unique business model, and the importance of sustainability in the fashion

In this episode of Commerce Talks, Lina meets with the two founders of Spryker and discusses the company's unique approach to addressing complex e-commerce needs beyond B2C retail, the company's composable architecture, and the importance of innovation. We also discuss that Spryker has been recognized by Gartner® as a Leader in the 2024 Magic Quadrant™ for Digital Commerce. Learn more or review the report here. Disclaimer:Objectivity DisclaimerGartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in its research publications, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings or other designation. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartner's research organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.References:*Gartner, Critical Capabilities for Digital Commerce,Aditya Vasudevan, Sandy Shen, Jason Daigler, Mike Lowndes, 11 November 2024.*Gartner, Magic Quadrant for Digital Commerce, By Mike Lowndes, Sandy Shen, Jason Daigler,Aditya Vasudevan, Ant Duffin, 6 November 2024GARTNER is a registered trademark and service mark of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and internationally, and MAGIC QUADRANT is a registered trademark of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates and are used herein with permission. All rights reserved.)

Finnish company KONE moves more than one billion people every day across its global portfolio of elevators and escalators. But it's so much more than that, as Alex found out in the latest edition of Commerce Talks, where he spoke with Johannes Rastas, KONE's SVP of R&D.Johannes regards KONE as a tech firm, focused on improving the flow of urban life. He explains KONE's approach to innovation and how it is ensuring the buildings of the future are nice places to live and work.

With just a few weeks until the Seamless KSA event in Riyadh, Alex caught up with ‘godmother of the metaverse' Cathy Hackl to talk about the latest emerging tech and how it is being used by leading brands. The discussion covered the metaverse (of course), the most advanced piece of consumer technology ever created, and Cathy's upcoming keynote at Seamless KSA.

At Seamless Middle East, we spoke with Adam Docrat, Head of IT at Aster Pharmacy and Aster Retail. Aster is a hugely significant player in the pharmaceutical market in the Middle East, and it is now setting its sights on expansion into the health and well-being sectors.Adam discusses how they are approaching that sector while also explaining the world of pharmaceuticals and the future of medicine delivery and revealing how Aster uses e-commerce.

This latest edition of the podcast from Seamless Middle East sees Alex joined by Adnaan Jassat, the CEO and founder of Thriller, the online marketplace for sneakers that sees buyers and sellers come together to exchange sneakers and trainers. The sneaker sector is massive – estimated to reach $40 billion by 2025, according to Adnaan – and he explains how Thriller is establishing itself in that market, including working with some of the biggest and best-known influencers on the planet and potentially expanding to become a marketplace for other collectibles, such as clothing and figures.

Ahead of the upcoming (September 4th and 5th) Seamless KSA event in Riyadh, Alex caught up with renowned tech and Artificial Intelligence consultant Karl Lillrud to discuss how retailers and e-commerce firms could use AI and even newer emerging technologies.The wide-ranging conversation focused on innovation in the Middle East, the role of GenAI, the importance of testing, the difficulties that can arise when implanting new technologies, and Karl's focus at Seamless in a few months.

We've been working closely with the Seamless team to bring you insights from the MENA region and this week, we're sharing a conversation with Jennifer Drury, who heads up marketing for the Seamless events. Listen in to learn more about how Seamless has evolved over the years, the challenges of organizing the event, and why Saudi Arabia is the next big hub for international business. If you're interested in exhibiting or attending Seamless, find more information here: https://www.terrapinn.com/exhibition/seamless-saudi-arabia/index.stm

E-commerce within the fuel industry comes with its own particular challenges, so Alex's guest for this podcast - Suryaveer Singh, Head of Loyalty at ENOC Retail – was hugely insightful about those challenges and how ENOC was addressing them.They discussed how ENOC had embraced the digital change required to keep pace with changing customer expectations, its innovative loyalty program and use of customer data and the differences in consumer fuel habits between UAE and the US / Europe.

Welcome to another podcast from Seamless Middle East, with Alex accompanied by Lina Gallagher as co-host. They are joined in this episode by Rajiv Warrier, CEO at Choithrams, which opened its first store in 1944 and is now regarded as one of the leading supermarket and department stores in the GCC. For a retailer so established and successful in brick and mortar, Choithrams has been a true early adopter when it comes to digital commerce. Rajiv explains why that was so important, how the company approached it, and how they have balanced the differing challenges of online and offline.

B2B and B2C digital commerce can be vastly different, so it was illuminating to welcome a guest - Anton Nehaenko, COO at Yalla Market and Yalla!Hub – that is making a success of both sectors.Yalla Market is a rapid grocery delivery service, while Yalla!Hub helps other businesses to sell products in Dubai. Anton joined Alex and co-host Lina Gallagher at Seamless Middle East to explain the dual approach and how its quick commerce model has become such a highly effective way for businesses outside the region to establish themselves in GCC.

Transitioning from brick and mortar to multichannel is a challenge all retailers are facing. Our latest guest, Kartik Bhatt of Sharaf Retail – operational in nine countries, 100+ outlets, 2,000+ employees - is someone that has made an enormous success of it in the Middle East.It's the latest podcast from Seamless Middle East, with Alex joined again as co-host by Lina Gallagher. Kartik explains to Alex and Lina how Sharaf's digitization, omnichannel strategies, and geographical expansion reflects its commitment to adapting to changing consumer demands and driving profitability.

With 400 branches, 400m visitors, and ¼ market share, Panda Retail has a perspective on how to win the KSA grocery game.The grocery market in KSA has one of the steepest growth curves in the world, and Alex was lucky to catch up with of the sector's leading figures – Panda Retail CIO, Piyush Chowhan - at the recent Seamless Middle East event.The conversation delved deep into the dynamic landscape of the Saudi Arabian grocery market, and Piyush was a truly insightful guest. He shared his expertise on the current and future state of the industry, shed light on the tremendous growth potential in the Saudi Arabian grocery sector, and revealed some of the reasons behind Panda Retail's success.

At Seamless Middle East, Alex spoke to some of the region's leading e-commerce figures. He is joined here as co-host by Lina Gallagher, and they interview Saad Tounzi, the Digital Projects Department Manager for ADNOC.ADNOC Distribution is the UAE's largest fuel and convenience retailer, and the leading marketer and distributor of fuels and lubricants to commercial, government and military customers. Saad discusses how he is using e-commerce, the importance of a diverse product portfolio, the focus on customer experience and how the EV market is taking shape in MENA.

Mina Salman is the brilliant mind behind the renowned Pakistani fashion and beauty brand, Bagallery. Mina is an accomplished entrepreneur, trendsetter, and a true trailblazer in the industry. Bagallery has disrupted the traditional retail landscape, embracing technology and social media to create an immersive customer shopping experience. We explore her strategies for staying ahead in a rapidly evolving industry and her insights on building a brand that resonates with a diverse audience.

Regular listeners will be aware of Alex's ongoing interest in B2B marketplaces and this week's episode features one of MENA's biggest and most dynamic – Marius Ciavola, the CEO of Tradeling.Marius talks through the reasons behind Tradeling's success, focusing on its business model, how it facilitates cross-border trade, and how it connects sellers of specialized products with buyers.He also discusses the dynamic market conditions in Dubai and the rest of MENA and explains his vision for digital channels in the B2B space.

This week's guest used to work at a company whose products we have probably all used at one time in our life – Colgate-Palmolive. Josue Munoz is the former Vice President Global ECommerce | Global Supply Chain and in this episode, he explains how Colgate embraced digital commerce and started moving towards being a more D2C focused company.He attributes the company's success as the world's number one toothpaste brand to its constant innovation, understanding of consumer needs, and global reach. Even facing increasing competition from private label brands, it is still the dominant player in the toothpaste market with strong brand recognition globally. The growing direct-to-consumer business is key to this, allowing Colgate to bypass retailers and build direct relationships with customers.

Ahead of Alex's presence at Seamless Middle East, this episode sees him catch up with The Toufic Kreidieh, founding partner and CEO of Brands for Less Group. BFL Group is a company that dominates the off-price business in the Middle East and will be present at Seamless in May. BFL Group is the parent company of several retail chains, headquartered in Dubai, but present across the GCC with 100+ stores. It sells branded goods at discount prices and Toufic explains to Alex how challenging it was to introduce the off-price business concept to a region where consumers were not familiar with the idea, describes how his company balances online and offline commerce and reveals the importance of creating the right working environment.