1
00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:04,120
Hello and welcome to live from 
NRF, the retail podcast. 

2
00:00:04,320 --> 00:00:08,000
I am with the man of the hour, 
my Co host for five things 

3
00:00:08,000 --> 00:00:12,440
Friday, Mr Reef Quail, managing 
director, fresh off stage, 

4
00:00:12,440 --> 00:00:13,880
centre stage. 
Wow, yes it was. 

5
00:00:13,880 --> 00:00:15,920
And the ribbon cutting session 
that we've had. 

6
00:00:16,480 --> 00:00:18,520
Reef, how are you doing? 
I'm pretty good. 

7
00:00:18,600 --> 00:00:20,520
It's been a bit of an emotional 
journey, but I'm fine. 

8
00:00:21,040 --> 00:00:22,240
I'm still standing. 
I'm still standing. 

9
00:00:22,240 --> 00:00:23,960
Actually, to be honest with you,
this is the best part. 

10
00:00:24,160 --> 00:00:27,240
When soon as the doors open and 
the people are here, it's it 

11
00:00:27,280 --> 00:00:30,680
makes a huge difference. 
I, I noticed this morning we had

12
00:00:30,840 --> 00:00:34,680
a whole full conference room for
you so that was really good to 

13
00:00:34,680 --> 00:00:38,240
see and the show floor was 
packed and I think one of the 

14
00:00:38,240 --> 00:00:40,120
things we're going to do now 
you're actually going to take me

15
00:00:40,320 --> 00:00:42,440
through some of your your 
highlights if. 

16
00:00:42,440 --> 00:00:44,720
You like absolutely there's and 
there's some really cool stuff 

17
00:00:44,720 --> 00:00:47,880
on that highlight to it for me. 
You know, we have some really 

18
00:00:47,880 --> 00:00:50,200
cool global programmes, but it's
also really good local stuff as 

19
00:00:50,200 --> 00:00:53,760
well for local participation. 
So innovative showcase the 

20
00:00:53,760 --> 00:00:57,680
latest and greatest technology 
pitched by VCs around the world 

21
00:00:57,680 --> 00:01:01,720
and also Fair price. 
Singapore's largest retailer has

22
00:01:01,720 --> 00:01:03,960
their own installation, the 
store of the future. 

23
00:01:03,960 --> 00:01:04,560
So I really. 
Cool. 

24
00:01:04,800 --> 00:01:06,760
I did have a look at it. 
It looked pretty, pretty 

25
00:01:06,760 --> 00:01:09,120
impressive in terms of the scale
and structure. 

26
00:01:09,360 --> 00:01:12,240
And I presume one of the 
feelings that I've got about 

27
00:01:12,240 --> 00:01:16,120
this NRF is this whole bringing 
data to life. 

28
00:01:16,400 --> 00:01:18,720
A lot of people focused on 
bringing that data life. 

29
00:01:18,720 --> 00:01:21,840
I don't know what the themes. 
Yeah, it ties beautifully with 

30
00:01:21,840 --> 00:01:24,240
the theme because really retail 
unlimited is not retail 

31
00:01:24,240 --> 00:01:27,040
unlimited without your data, 
without your data in order, I 

32
00:01:27,080 --> 00:01:29,160
can't say data, I say data, 
right. 

33
00:01:29,240 --> 00:01:32,200
So without without your data in 
order, you really can't take 

34
00:01:32,200 --> 00:01:34,240
advantage of the opportunity 
which is retail unlimited. 

35
00:01:34,240 --> 00:01:37,200
So it starts with data, it 
starts with getting that stuff 

36
00:01:37,200 --> 00:01:39,760
sorted, and then you can then 
scale your business. 

37
00:01:40,080 --> 00:01:42,320
Fantastic. 
Well, let's go inside and take 

38
00:01:42,320 --> 00:01:43,160
a. 
Look, absolutely. 

39
00:01:43,160 --> 00:01:45,320
Let's go. 
Hello, my name is Seth Webb. 

40
00:01:45,320 --> 00:01:48,960
I work with NRF to curate the 
Innovator Showcase here, which 

41
00:01:48,960 --> 00:01:51,720
is the only curated section of 
the Expo 4. 

42
00:01:52,080 --> 00:01:55,520
All of the these companies have 
to apply and demonstrate that 

43
00:01:55,520 --> 00:01:58,480
they have a new technology 
that's come to the market in the

44
00:01:58,480 --> 00:02:00,920
last two to three years. 
They have to show how that 

45
00:02:00,920 --> 00:02:05,280
technology has been validated 
and, and, and proven market fit,

46
00:02:05,520 --> 00:02:09,600
product market fit. 
And then they have to also show 

47
00:02:09,600 --> 00:02:12,120
why they're ready to scale 
because everybody who comes to 

48
00:02:12,120 --> 00:02:14,280
this show is ready to do 
something that can work 

49
00:02:14,280 --> 00:02:17,680
everywhere. 
So we've got 25 companies that 

50
00:02:17,680 --> 00:02:20,280
fit that bill. 
A lot of them are early stage, 

51
00:02:20,280 --> 00:02:22,520
some are, some have been around 
for a little bit and come up 

52
00:02:22,520 --> 00:02:25,360
with new innovations. 
We curate this based on 

53
00:02:25,360 --> 00:02:28,280
recommendations from a network 
of venture capitalist tech 

54
00:02:28,280 --> 00:02:30,120
accelerators and retail 
operators. 

55
00:02:30,560 --> 00:02:33,480
And we're hoping to answer the 
question for everybody who comes

56
00:02:33,480 --> 00:02:35,640
to the show, What's new, What's 
next? 

57
00:02:35,680 --> 00:02:38,760
How is tech transforming retail?
I've got a question. 

58
00:02:38,800 --> 00:02:41,080
I know you've got to go. 
He's an incredibly busy man. 

59
00:02:41,240 --> 00:02:45,640
We've just caught him off guard.
What is that key trend people 

60
00:02:45,640 --> 00:02:47,640
should be watching apart from 
AI? 

61
00:02:47,640 --> 00:02:48,960
Yeah, AI. 
But. 

62
00:02:51,600 --> 00:02:53,200
What do you? 
Think we'll put him on the spot?

63
00:02:53,800 --> 00:02:55,840
Because you said what you said, 
what is the trend? 

64
00:02:55,840 --> 00:02:57,040
And I was going to say, well, 
it's AI. 

65
00:02:57,440 --> 00:03:00,680
It's AI and it's AI. 
So, you know, I'm sorry that we 

66
00:03:00,680 --> 00:03:02,760
have a lot of the same. 
Here, but we actually outcomes 

67
00:03:02,920 --> 00:03:04,480
from. 
AI, look, here's what's 

68
00:03:04,480 --> 00:03:08,080
happening here and what you're 
going to see in the showcase is 

69
00:03:08,080 --> 00:03:10,880
you're going to see how AI is 
being applied to sourcing and 

70
00:03:10,880 --> 00:03:14,120
supply chain, product awareness,
inventory, product 

71
00:03:14,120 --> 00:03:17,960
consideration, customer 
engagements, payments, service 

72
00:03:17,960 --> 00:03:21,560
of logistics, loyalty, like the 
whole commerce journey, right? 

73
00:03:21,760 --> 00:03:25,080
Like how is it fitting in? 
What's coming to market, what's 

74
00:03:25,080 --> 00:03:27,720
matured, and it's changing on a 
daily basis. 

75
00:03:28,480 --> 00:03:30,760
And you know, a lot of the 
things, one of the things that 

76
00:03:30,760 --> 00:03:35,080
we've been talking about here 
this week is how the 

77
00:03:35,080 --> 00:03:40,960
geopolitical shifts have created
a challenging market and, and 

78
00:03:40,960 --> 00:03:44,160
how AI can help you with some of
that regulatory compliance, 

79
00:03:44,400 --> 00:03:46,960
navigating some of the and, and 
staying up to up to. 

80
00:03:46,960 --> 00:03:50,040
Speed. 
On how there's different changes

81
00:03:50,040 --> 00:03:52,320
in in some of your key markets? 
Fantastic. 

82
00:03:52,920 --> 00:03:55,360
And that's and that's, to be 
honest with you, why I love 

83
00:03:55,360 --> 00:03:57,680
working with Stephanie's team. 
The innovative showcase is a 

84
00:03:57,680 --> 00:04:01,120
complete feature of our floor 
and it's a really, it's a real 

85
00:04:01,120 --> 00:04:04,320
joy because these companies are 
from all, as I can see, Germany,

86
00:04:04,560 --> 00:04:06,840
India, USA. 
That's right. 

87
00:04:06,840 --> 00:04:09,240
We've got we've got 12 Asian 
companies, 12 N American 

88
00:04:09,240 --> 00:04:11,280
companies, 4 European. 
Yeah. 

89
00:04:11,280 --> 00:04:13,800
And so that means that you're 
seeing companies from all over 

90
00:04:13,800 --> 00:04:16,120
the world that retailers, 
management specific would 

91
00:04:16,120 --> 00:04:17,839
normally not get to see in one 
place. 

92
00:04:17,839 --> 00:04:20,000
This is that's spectacular. 
That's right. 

93
00:04:20,680 --> 00:04:22,520
Great. 
Well, you know, look, besides 

94
00:04:22,640 --> 00:04:26,160
AI, we've got, we've got, we've 
got AI applied to robotics, 

95
00:04:26,640 --> 00:04:29,960
we've got it applied to 
software, we've got it applied 

96
00:04:29,960 --> 00:04:34,800
to in store hardware to create 
digital displays. 

97
00:04:34,800 --> 00:04:37,240
I mean, it's, it's, it's 
integrated in everything here. 

98
00:04:37,600 --> 00:04:39,960
How about this? 
I'll come back later when you've

99
00:04:39,960 --> 00:04:42,920
not as pressed for time and 
we'll go and look at some of the

100
00:04:42,920 --> 00:04:44,120
key ones. 
Yeah. 

101
00:04:44,200 --> 00:04:46,920
And we'll, we'll, we'll go in 
deep so that way you can get off

102
00:04:46,920 --> 00:04:49,240
now and we'll come in and do a 
deep dive on that. 

103
00:04:49,280 --> 00:04:50,400
Thank you so much. 
That's OK. 

104
00:04:50,560 --> 00:04:51,120
Thanks. 
Thank you. 

105
00:04:51,840 --> 00:04:52,720
Right. 
Hello, everyone. 

106
00:04:53,120 --> 00:04:56,360
You are at the next level of 
five and five is where I take 

107
00:04:56,360 --> 00:04:57,520
over. 
And Alex stays quiet. 

108
00:04:57,960 --> 00:05:00,080
This will be challenging for 
him, but that's OK. 

109
00:05:00,360 --> 00:05:02,920
I've got this, I think, right. 
So today we're going to 

110
00:05:02,920 --> 00:05:06,520
introduce you to a new event 
that's coming to Southeast Asia,

111
00:05:06,520 --> 00:05:09,800
Imedia. 
And, and what better person to 

112
00:05:09,800 --> 00:05:13,120
speak about this than Mr Michael
Lambs, who's been involved with 

113
00:05:13,120 --> 00:05:14,600
Imedia for now for more than a 
decade. 

114
00:05:14,880 --> 00:05:16,080
This is true. 
Yes, it's true. 

115
00:05:16,760 --> 00:05:18,040
Tell me about. 
Tell me about the event, 

116
00:05:18,040 --> 00:05:21,680
Michael. 
So we are bringing the media 

117
00:05:21,680 --> 00:05:25,360
format to Southeast Asia in 
Penang next year, 2026, 

118
00:05:25,360 --> 00:05:29,280
September 2026. 
The idea for our media is we 

119
00:05:29,560 --> 00:05:33,280
bring together retailers from 
all over the region and we're 

120
00:05:33,280 --> 00:05:35,760
bringing together a senior group
of retailers who will be able to

121
00:05:35,760 --> 00:05:37,320
share ideas and thinking with 
each other. 

122
00:05:37,720 --> 00:05:40,240
They'll experience some 
fantastic content from the stage

123
00:05:40,240 --> 00:05:43,320
and they'll be able to mingle 
and interact with lots of 

124
00:05:43,320 --> 00:05:47,360
different solution providers who
are experts at what they do and 

125
00:05:47,400 --> 00:05:50,400
can bring solutions that will be
hopefully game changers in those

126
00:05:50,400 --> 00:05:52,640
retailers businesses. 
And what and what I love about 

127
00:05:52,640 --> 00:05:55,800
our media is you, you, you, you 
take people away from the 

128
00:05:55,800 --> 00:05:56,920
office. 
You take people to a 

129
00:05:56,920 --> 00:05:59,360
destination, a beautiful 
destination in Benang, Malaysia.

130
00:05:59,440 --> 00:06:00,520
Absolutely. 
And they don't. 

131
00:06:00,600 --> 00:06:02,640
They don't leave and they spend 
time together. 

132
00:06:02,640 --> 00:06:04,240
Yes, we lock them in. 
No, we don't. 

133
00:06:05,080 --> 00:06:07,920
But it's a, it's what's really 
lovely is when people to arrive 

134
00:06:07,920 --> 00:06:13,120
at the destination, people kind 
of decompress and walk into a 

135
00:06:13,120 --> 00:06:15,920
beautiful environment, but then 
they're confronted with all of 

136
00:06:15,920 --> 00:06:20,200
their peers and lots of 
fantastic people in the industry

137
00:06:20,400 --> 00:06:22,080
that they're just itching to 
chat to. 

138
00:06:22,680 --> 00:06:25,680
The thing about our media is the
quality of the conversations 

139
00:06:25,680 --> 00:06:28,640
that you can have there. 
It's such high level is that all

140
00:06:28,640 --> 00:06:31,520
of the the retailers that come 
it's an invitation only events. 

141
00:06:31,520 --> 00:06:34,760
All the retailers attending have
all been selected for the 

142
00:06:34,760 --> 00:06:37,280
seniority and the the quality of
the business that they 

143
00:06:37,280 --> 00:06:40,320
represent. 
And so everybody there is of a 

144
00:06:40,680 --> 00:06:44,200
is a is a high level business 
person that you with fantastic 

145
00:06:44,200 --> 00:06:47,280
conversations to be had amongst 
each other and with the vendors 

146
00:06:47,280 --> 00:06:48,400
there. 
Brilliant events. 

147
00:06:48,400 --> 00:06:51,400
So it's been very much part of 
my retail journey and I think 

148
00:06:51,640 --> 00:06:54,000
Southeast Asia get ready because
it's going to be a lot. 

149
00:06:54,000 --> 00:06:55,640
Of fun. 
It is a lot of fun as well. 

150
00:06:55,640 --> 00:06:58,960
People will really enjoy 
themselves and come away 

151
00:06:58,960 --> 00:07:01,560
energised and lots of new ideas 
for their businesses so. 

152
00:07:01,840 --> 00:07:03,960
Thanks, Michael. 
If there's one thought left that

153
00:07:03,960 --> 00:07:05,240
you want to talk about, I mean, 
you have. 

154
00:07:05,360 --> 00:07:06,760
We just got all the thoughts out
today. 

155
00:07:07,200 --> 00:07:09,480
Come along and experience it. 
So we run these events across 

156
00:07:09,480 --> 00:07:11,520
the region. 
So we've run Australia and New 

157
00:07:11,520 --> 00:07:13,400
Zealand. 
We've our colleagues in Japan 

158
00:07:13,400 --> 00:07:15,520
run the events there. 
Our colleagues in India run the 

159
00:07:15,520 --> 00:07:17,320
events there. 
So we've been going for a long 

160
00:07:17,320 --> 00:07:19,960
time. 
A fascinating is a brilliant 

161
00:07:19,960 --> 00:07:22,760
format and we always have people
come back to us after the event 

162
00:07:22,760 --> 00:07:25,120
saying how much they've enjoyed 
it, how much value they've got. 

163
00:07:25,120 --> 00:07:27,960
So bring on Southeast Asia. 
Thank you, Michael. 

164
00:07:28,160 --> 00:07:29,520
My pleasure. 
Glad to have you involved. 

165
00:07:29,520 --> 00:07:31,240
My friend, fantastic. 
Enjoy, see you. 

166
00:07:31,480 --> 00:07:35,440
So we're outside the store of 
tomorrow, but Reef, we're not 

167
00:07:35,440 --> 00:07:37,560
going to get a chance to go in 
there today because it's five 

168
00:07:37,560 --> 00:07:38,200
things. 
Friday. 

169
00:07:38,320 --> 00:07:40,560
It's not even Friday, but we're 
just doing a really quick 

170
00:07:41,000 --> 00:07:42,720
overview. 
Tell me about it. 

171
00:07:42,720 --> 00:07:45,320
What is this? 
This is Fair Prices Store of the

172
00:07:45,320 --> 00:07:48,000
Future, So Fair Prices Store of 
the Future is really 

173
00:07:48,000 --> 00:07:52,080
highlighting some of the 
technologies that will be part 

174
00:07:52,080 --> 00:07:54,840
of the shopping experience with 
Fair Price as they view the 

175
00:07:54,840 --> 00:07:57,200
future of retail. 
Fair Price is one of 

176
00:07:57,400 --> 00:07:59,840
Singapore's, if not Singapore's 
largest retail group. 

177
00:08:00,640 --> 00:08:03,520
They have fish everything from 
from great screen technology to 

178
00:08:03,520 --> 00:08:06,640
smart carts to AI to facial 
recognition. 

179
00:08:06,840 --> 00:08:10,560
There's so many cool things in 
this exhibit. 

180
00:08:11,040 --> 00:08:13,440
It's curated by fair price. 
So it's actually curated by a 

181
00:08:13,440 --> 00:08:15,120
retailer, not a vendor. 
Yeah. 

182
00:08:15,200 --> 00:08:17,600
So it's their view of the future
as a retailer. 

183
00:08:17,600 --> 00:08:20,080
So it's something special, 
something not to be missed. 

184
00:08:20,280 --> 00:08:22,560
And what I'm sure Alex will 
catch up with these guys and do 

185
00:08:22,560 --> 00:08:24,760
it a real tour through that, 
through the experience. 

186
00:08:24,800 --> 00:08:28,800
Well, hopefully day 2 tomorrow 
you'll TuneIn and your day three

187
00:08:28,800 --> 00:08:31,440
you'll see the outcome. 
So anyway, thank you so much for

188
00:08:31,440 --> 00:08:33,840
giving us your time until 
tomorrow. 

189
00:08:34,520 --> 00:08:35,280
We're signing off now.