RCM26Day 2 · 6 October 2026 · Panel
The Next Wave: Retail, Dining and Destinations Reshaping the Mall
Three takeaways
- 01Ahmad Alkashakri put Saudi Arabia's food and beverage sector at around SAR 110 billion, growing five to seven per cent, with his association's members covering over 10,000 brands across the Kingdom.
- 02Todd Pilgreen said food and beverage has moved from accessory to destination, almost an anchor: once a 15 to 20 per cent baseline of GLA, 30 or 40 per cent is now not unheard of.
- 03Plan F&B through the leasing strategy first: Todd Pilgreen advised separating uses that would cannibalise each other and clustering activity around shared nodes, while Ahmad Alkashakri urged involving operators early in fit-out.
About the session
Dining has become the reason a visit is planned, and a new generation of destinations is bringing food, retail and entertainment together on one site. A leading voice for the Kingdom's restaurant and café operators and a destination designer share what the new generation of destination will require and where the next wave of demand is coming from.
“we've moved from F&B as an accessory to F&B as a destination, and almost in a certain way, an anchor.”
From the room
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