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Dive Brief:

• Shoptalk Luxeannounced the creation of an advisory board and released more names of its global launch partners, according to a Wednesday press release.
• The trade show,which debuts next year in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, will focus on the premium retail sector. Executives from firms including Kering, Mytheresa, Breitling and Loro Piana are among the people confirmed to the event’s advisory board, and will “lend strategic insight, help shape the agenda” and assist in creating the event, per the release.
• In addition to Chalhoub Group, which was announced as the event’s launch partner in January, some of the event’s new sponsors include Deloitte, Kingpin Global, Mastercard and Shopify. They join “a growing list of brands and solution providers,” per the release.

Dive Insight:

Although growth in the global luxury market has recently slowed, the Middle East is one of the few regionsexpected to see expansion in 2025, according to a report from McKinsey.

Shoptalk Luxe is poised to take advantage of that growth and said it anticipates further expansion in the region over the next several years, per a January release.

“Building on this momentum, Abu Dhabi is positioning itself to unlock the immense potential of its luxury retail market by capitalising on its strategic location between East and West and status as a premier destination for culture, tourism, and investment,” Shoptalk Luxe said in its January release.

With the creation of its advisory board, the event hopes to harness the name recognition power of some of the sector’s “most iconic and innovative luxury and premium brands,” per the release.

Nine board members were announced Wednesday:

• Miral Youssef, Kering’s president of Middle East and Africa
• Gareth Locke, Mytheresa’s chief growth officer
• Gaetano Sodo, Loro Piana’s chief digital officer
• Stacie Henderson, Tod’s Group’s chief marketing officer for the Americas
• Marie-Theres Mangelsdorf, Montblanc’s chief client and digital officer
• Charles Awad, Majid Al Futtaim’s chief brand officer
• Mona Kattan, Kayali Fragrances’ founder and CEO
• Rajesh Shanmugasundaram, Breitling’s chief technology officer
• Adrian Ward-Rees, Moncler’s chief business officer.

“From our incredible Advisory Board to our groundbreaking Launch Partners, the industry’s enthusiasm has been phenomenal,” Sophie Wawro, president of Shoptalk, said in Wednesday’s release. “This momentum shows that the appetite for premium retail innovation, cross-industry collaboration, and creating transformative experiences is stronger than ever.”

Shoptalk was founded in 2015 and acquired in 2019 by Hyve Group. It currently hosts retail and grocery trade events in Las Vegas and Chicago as well as one in Barcelona, Spain.

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