Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 20 October 2021 – Bain & Company Middle East announces its participation in the 5th Anniversary of the Future Investment Initiative (FII), a three-day program to be held in Riyadh from the 26th to the 28th of October. Bain will host a panel discussion that examines current trends in the MENA consumer culture and, how companies and retailers can better serve the needs of these new MENA consumers.
Moderated by Anne-Laure Malauzat, Partner at Bain & Company Middle East, the session will take place on the first day of the event from 15:45 to 17:00 (KSA time). Malauzat will be hosting C-level executives of leading retail companies in the MENA region. The discussion will focus on how today’s consumer is evolving into a more informed purchaser, demanding more personalized and digitalized services, with a growing interest in newer insurgent brands and sustainability.
The session will dive into global retail trends while identifying the ones which are most relevant to the MENA region in the short or long term. Differences between consumers in North Africa, Saudi Arabia and Gulf countries will also be discussed. In addition, the session will examine how companies and retailers can adapt to the emerging needs of MENA consumers in order to serve them better.
“While they are clearly impacted by the global trends, consumers in MENA also have their own specificities. They care about health and wellness just like their global counterparts, but they are also increasingly diverse and fast changing in their demands, thus creating many new challenges and opportunities for consumer products companies and retailers,” said Cyrille Fabre, Partner at Bain & Company Middle East.
In the previous edition of the FII program, the theme revolved around “Neo-renaissance.” The theme for the 5th Anniversary of the initiative will be “Invest in Humanity.”
Equality, ingenuity, and scalability are the three pillars that are shaping the future of global business and investment. For the past five years, the FII community has shaped the future of global investment through an interactive program featuring conversations with global leaders, executive roundtables, and networking among CEOs and policymakers.
