Retail Summit 30 - 2 October 2026
Penang | Malaysia

iMedia Retail Summit Southeast Asia

2026 Agenda

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Day 1
Day 2
Day 3

Day 1

30 September 2026

9:00AM - 12:30PM
Delegate Registration

Delegates arrive at the hotel to register and check in ahead of the afternoon formalities.

Welcome Lounge

Work, relax, or network ahead of the day - join us in the Jamboree room for snacks and refreshments.

12:30PM - 2:15PM
Retailers-Only Lunch | The Hidden Cost of the Sale: Where Margin Really Goes

Every sale looks good at the top line. The real question is what survives underneath it.

Across the region, retailers are selling through more channels than ever: marketplaces, social commerce, super apps, stores, retail partners and owned platforms. But every channel carries a different cost. Commission, paid visibility, fulfilment, returns, failed deliveries, payment friction, discounting and promotional funding can quickly turn a strong-looking sale into margin erosion.

This closed-door session puts the uncomfortable question on the table: which sales are actually worth having?

Using market data as the starting point, retailers will examine where margin is leaking, which channels are being subsidised by the rest of the business, and what changes when every order comes with its true cost attached.

Networkers Briefing & Lunch

Playbook: How to Win in 3 Meetings

Sponsors and solution providers get a straight-talking guide to maximising their 1:1 meetings. Expect insider advice on framing conversations, understanding retailer priorities, and standing out as a trusted partner.

2:15PM - 2:30PM
Refresh and Get ready

Take a few moments to unwind, get comfortable, and take care of any last-minute matters before we officially begin.

2:30PM - 2:45PM
Welcome & Opening Remarks

Retail in Motion: Three Days, Five Tensions, One Question

When algorithms control discovery and platforms own the customer relationship, the open question is where the next dollar of profitable growth comes from. This opening frames the five tensions running through the summit and sets the pace for three days of commercially honest discussion.

Event Host and Official MC
iMedia
Managing Director ANZ
iMedia
2:45PM - 3:10PM
3:10PM - 3:40PM
Lightning Panel | The Investment Test: Where Would You Put Your Next $1M?

Growth in the region is getting harder and every investment now carries a trade-off someone has to own. Each panellist commits to where they would put their next $1M, names what they would stop funding to pay for it, and gives the one metric that would prove the call right. Thirty minutes, real allocations, no hedging.

Senior Regional Manager
ZALORA Group
Chief Marketing Officer Omni-Channel, Luxe Division
L'Oréal
Growth & Retail Media Strategist
Former GM Digital Growth, Endeavour Group
Deputy Director, Ecommerce
Skechers
3:40PM - 4:15PM
4:15PM - 5:15PM
5:15PM - 6:30PM
Free Time

Delegates can use this time to refresh, check-in with work and explore the surroundings. 

6:30PM - 9:30PM
Beachside Opening Reception | Where the Summit Meets the Sea

The summit's opening social event, set against the Penang shoreline at dusk. Cocktails, live food stations, and three hours of unhurried conversation with the most senior retail community in the region. This is where the real agenda starts.

Day 2

1 October 2026

6:30AM - 8:45AM
Breakfast

Day 2 begins with breakfast!

8:45AM - 9:00AM
MC Opening Remarks
Event Host and Official MC
iMedia
9:00AM - 9:35AM
9:35AM - 9:50AM
9:50AM - 10:20AM
Panel | Control Points: Where Retailers Can Still Shape the Sale

In Southeast Asia, a customer can discover a product on social, compare it on a marketplace and buy it in store. What makes the next purchase yours?

Leaders from AEON360, POP MART and OnTheList explore the decisions that give retailers a stronger hold on the sale and the customer relationship. From pricing and assortment to membership and the buying experience, where is control worth the investment, and where can a partner deliver more value?

Drawing on contrasting business models, the panel examines what protects margin, earns repeat purchase and needs to change from one SEA market to another. Expect concrete examples and trade-offs, with practical decisions to test in your own business.

Managing Director
AEON360
Head of Middle East and South Asia
POP MART
Regional CEO / Managing Director — Luxury & Premium Fashion, Asia-Pacific
OnTheList
10:20AM - 10:35AM
10:35AM - 11:00AM
11:00AM - 12:00PM
12:10PM - 12:35PM
Breakout
Stream B | The Real Channel P&L: What Each Sale Actually Costs

Most channel reporting flatters the channels that deserve it least. Commission, ad spend, returns, fulfilment and promotional funding turn strong-looking marketplace revenue into subsidised volume, and take rates are still climbing. This session rebuilds channel P&Ls across marketplace, owned, social and retail partner channels at true cost-to-serve. Bring your own numbers; leave knowing which channels create profit, which consume it, and which the rest of the business is funding.

12:40PM - 1:05PM
Breakout
Stream A | Too Much Stock. Still Out of Stock.

Cash is tied up in products that are not moving, while the items customers want are missing from the shelf. More inventory has not solved availability. Better decisions might.

This session works through where forecasting, replenishment and stock allocation can improve margin across stores and digital channels. What data needs fixing first? Which decisions should be automated? Where must merchants and store teams retain control?

Using a real retail example, the room examines the investment, implementation effort and trade-offs between availability, inventory holding and markdowns or waste. Leave knowing which stock problem to tackle first and what improvement would justify the spend.

1:05PM - 2:05PM
Networking Lunch
2:05PM - 5:00PM
Activity
Activities
Activity
Batik Painting Workshop

Get creative with a Batik Painting Workshop that's all about colour, culture and connection! Guided by local motifs inspired by flora and fauna, you'll create your own batik artwork from start to finish.

 Your finished piece will be packaged up and sent home with you - a personal keepsake from the summit.

5:00PM - 6:30PM
Free Time
6:30PM - 6:45PM
Pre Dinner Drinks

Network and mingle with delegates of the event ahead of the official welcome dinner.

6:45PM - 9:30PM

Day 3

2 October 2026

6:30AM - 9:00AM
Breakfast

Day 3 begins with breakfast!

9:00AM - 9:10AM
MC Opening Remarks
Event Host and Official MC
iMedia
9:10AM - 9:35AM
9:35AM - 10:00AM
10:00AM - 10:15AM
Retail Media: What the Network Actually Returned

Retail media is becoming one of the most attractive new revenue opportunities for retailers in Southeast Asia, but the market is still uneven. Some retailers have strong loyalty, app, store and transaction data. Others are still working through fragmented systems, limited supplier maturity and the risk of adding too much commercial noise to the customer experience.

This case study looks at what it really takes to turn retail media from an idea into a credible business. What inventory can a retailer actually sell? What do brands and advertisers need before they invest? What technology, data and sales capability has to be built? And how do you prove the activity drove incremental sales, rather than simply taking credit for purchases that would have happened anyway?

A practical look at the costs, trade-offs and returns behind retail media in Southeast Asia: one operator, one commercial model, and one honest view of what the network actually returned.

10:15AM - 10:50AM
10:50AM - 11:15AM
Breakout
Stream A | What the Store Is Still Worth

The store carries the highest cost structure in retail and cannot win a price fight against channels built to undercut it. Most leadership teams have still not decided what job the estate does instead: acquisition engine, service layer, data capture, fulfilment node or brand asset, each with different economics. 

This session forces the call, comparing what stores are now genuinely best at and how to measure a store's contribution when the sale it influenced closes online. Bring a store P&L question; leave with the commercial job of your estate stated in one sentence.

11:20AM - 11:45AM
Breakout
Stream A | Moving a Platform Customer Into Your Own: The 90-Day Reality

Acquiring a marketplace customer is easy; converting one into a direct relationship without losing the marketplace volume is the part almost no one has cracked. Most senior leaders in the region say they would slow growth to build owned channels, yet the migration playbook remains thin. 

This session works the mechanics: what the first 90 days involve, how loyalty and CRM get built alongside marketplace dependency rather than instead of it, and what an honest conversion rate looks like. Bring your current marketplace-to-owned conversion number; leave with the capability list and the cost to stand it up.

11:45AM - 12:20PM
Networkers Only | Workshop
Retailers Only | Retail Innovation Roundtables

Candid Conversations: The Problems You Only Discuss When Vendors Leave the Room

Ten closed-door roundtables of 10 senior retail leaders each, anchored to the summit's six content pillars. The sponsor frames a live commercial challenge, then steps back and facilitates. The value is what the operators around the table share with each other: what they have tried, what broke, what they would do differently, and what they are quietly worried about. Delegates choose the table that matches their most pressing problem. Retailers only in the circle.

Retailers Only | Retail Innovation Roundtables
Retailers Only | Retail Innovation Roundtables

Candid Conversations: The Problems You Only Discuss When Vendors Leave the Room

Ten closed-door roundtables of 10 senior retail leaders each, anchored to the summit's six content pillars. The sponsor frames a live commercial challenge, then steps back and facilitates. The value is what the operators around the table share with each other: what they have tried, what broke, what they would do differently, and what they are quietly worried about. Delegates choose the table that matches their most pressing problem. Retailers only in the circle.

12:20PM - 1:15PM
Networking Lunch & Wildcard Connect

Extended lunch and a final round of wildcard 1:1 meetings, the last structured connection point of the summit.

1:15PM - 1:40PM
Headline Interview | What I'd Do Differently: The Calls That Shaped the Last Two Years

Most retail leaders keep their real trade-offs behind closed doors. In a candid on-stage interview, one of the region's most significant operators walks through the calls that shaped their last two years: the growth bet that paid off, the one that did not, and where platform dependency became a strategic question.

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
The MUI Group
Founder
Haldy
1:40PM - 2:10PM
Keynote | Holding Your Nerve: Leadership and Judgement When the Pressure Doesn't Let Up

Three days of strategy end with the part no framework covers: how a leader keeps making good commercial decisions when restructures, shrinking teams and shifting channels do not let up. This keynote is about judgement under sustained pressure: how the best operators hold their standards, keep their people committed, and keep making the hard call when the conditions are against them. The note to end on before walking back into it on Monday.

2:10PM - 2:20PM
Closing Remarks & Ultimate Networker Prize

Be crowned the Ultimate networker and win a fabulous prize! This prestigious title will be awarded to one outstanding individual who has demonstrated exceptional networking skills using our iMedia app during the event by collecting Ultimate networking points.

Day 1
Day 2
Day 3