Fahed Ghanim, the the Chief Executive Officer of Majid Al Futtaim – Lifestyle said that the company"s appetite for Saudi Arabia’s market reflects its great economic performance. Here is the full Q&A: The digital era -or the fourth industrial revolution- is increasingly impacting all parts of your business from shopping to movie entertainment- How is Majed AlFuttaim dealing with these changes? At Majed AlFuttaim one of our key values is to be “Bold.” We promote a creative environment where there is courage to challenge convention and make the impossible possible, celebrating progress through innovation. We have learnt from businesses in varied sectors, that if you don’t progress and stay still you won’t just stay in your position, you will inevitably fall back. Flexibility is key for maintaining business growth, which is why we are riding the wave of digital. So much so, it has become an extension of who and what we are. With digital we not only understand our customer’s behavior, but we can even communicate with them across channels, and at scale. Digital has created a stronger, more profound, and more intimate bond with our customers. Proof that we are moving in the right direction with digitization, is that we launched all our services online from Carrefour’s grocery app to our cinema ticket booking to crate and barrel’s furniture shopping - in the Kingdom our Crate and Barrel online store was launched in 2021, offering a seamless shopping experience at a click of a button. We will not stop here as we understand our main competitor are the disruptors. They are no longer traditional companies across the street or another great mall; it’s Amazon. It’s not another cinema; it’s Netflix. It’s not a better hotel; it’s Airbnb. Yet, you still choose to invest in a brick-and-mortar store in Riyadh? We’ve chosen to invest in a Brick-and-mortar store because we really believe in the future of retail, and we really believe that the future of retail is both physical and digital. It is known these days as ‘phygital’. The “experience” you get from physical shopping is unmatched with online shopping. It’s a whole different dimension –you see the colors more clearly, you feel the texture, you make connections with the products. Digital gives you a different experience, and we offer both at MAF. Besides Dubai, why was Riyadh chosen as a key Middle Eastern location for launching a Crate and Barrel store? Our appetite for KSA’s market reflecting its great economic performance. We were also keen to launch a Brick-and-Mortar store as a response to our digital store’s customer request to launch one here in Riyadh. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has long cared about its economy and prosperity and has opened its doors for foreign investment opportunities in accordance with Saudi Vision 2030. In specific, the city of Riyadh, has become the capital of social and economic development undergoing a major transformation. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia advanced 29 ranks in the “Doing Business 2020” report issued by the World Bank. The efforts by the Kingdom are transforming Riyadh into an attractive and stimulating future-proof investment hub for continuation and expansion, empowering investors to access opportunities, providing us with a smooth and flexible process, and limitless support.