Saudi Retail’s New Message to Global Brands: Adapt or Miss Out

RIYADH — The conversation about Saudi Arabia’s retail ambitions has shifted. It is no longer about whether the kingdom can attract international brands or fill new malls. The question now, as articulated across two days at the 2026 RLC Global Forum here earlier this month, is who sets the terms. Increasingly, the answer is local. Convened in partnership with the Royal Commission for Riyadh City, the forum brought together regional conglomerates, sovereign-backed institutions and global operators to discuss how the balance of power in retail is tilting toward markets that are no longer content to import a playbook. “We meet at a moment that feels fundamentally different from just a few years ago,” said Panos Linardos, chairman of RLC. “Growth today is no longer linear. It is not evenly distributed. It is no longer guaranteed.” A $40 Billion BlueprintBurak Çakmak, chief executive officer of the Saudi Fashion Commission, shared a detailed picture of the country’s retail ambition. The fashion and beauty sector now employs 340,000 people in the kingdom, contributes 2.6 percent of GDP, and is projected to reach $40 billion by 2029. More than half the workforce is female. Much of this is data is compiled by the Saudi’s Fashion Futures

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