What's Keeping Retail CEOs Awake at Night in 2026? | World Retail Signals

World Retail Signals is a new global retail intelligence show co-produced by

The Retail Podcast and World Retail Congress — a monthly look at the top retail

narratives shaping executive thinking around the world.

This prelude episode goes behind the scenes of World Retail Congress 2026,

happening in Berlin, April 2026. Host Alex Rezvan is joined by Ian McGarrigle,

founder and chair of World Retail Congress, to discuss:

→ Why Berlin was chosen as the 2026 host city (and what Zalando has to do with it)

→ The theme for WRC 2026: Retail's Roadmap to 2030

→ How retail has shown extraordinary resilience across 20 years — financial

crash, e-commerce disruption, Covid, and now AI

→ What aspiring retail executives will take from the Congress

→ The short-term vs long-term pressures facing retail CEOs right now

→ Why geopolitics, inflation, and technology are converging in 2026

⏱️ CHAPTERS

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🗓️ World Retail Congress 2026 | Berlin | April 2026

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