NRF's Jill Dvorak speaks with Best Buy Executive Vice President and Chief Supply Chain Officer Mark Irvin at NRF 2025: Retail's Big Show Europe.
For more than a century, NRF has hosted Retail’s Big Show in New York City. As the world’s largest retail trade association, NRF has been expanding our international presence and bringing our events to key markets around the world. In partnership with Comexposium, we successfully launched Retail’s Big Show Asia Pacific in Singapore in 2024. This September, we launched the inaugural Retail’s Big Show Europe in Paris with great success.
NRF 2025: Retail’s Big Show Europe convened 12,500 global retail leaders and solution providers from 58 countries. The event featured 200 speakers, 500 exhibitors and 100 international startups. The Expo floor was a showcase of technology and innovation, anchored by three flagship areas: the Startup Hub, the Innovators Showcase and the House of Innovation Pavilion. These spaces brought to life the latest in artificial intelligence, data, customer experience, sustainability, logistics and payments.
Attendees exchanged ideas, built relationships and collaborated on shaping the future of retail. While many themes emerged, artificial intelligence dominated the conversation. The consensus: As AI evolves, so too must co-working between humans and machines. Retailers are investing in upskilling and providing tools that will enhance efficiency and elevate both employee and customer experiences.
Retail’s Big Show Europe convened 12,500 global retail leaders and solution providers from 58 countries. Learn more about the event.
Sam’s Club Executive Vice President and Chief Experience Officer Diana Marshall noted that the history of retail is the personal experience. And while AI will change how we operate, humanity will be the differentiator as we go into the future.
“Hospitality is a feeling, and not a function,” Marshall said. “The feeling customers have when they leave a store will determine how soon they will come back.” It’s part of the Sam’s Club culture to create moments of joy that customers will remember. Sam’s Club started as an experiment by Sam Walton in 1983, and to this day, the company continues to innovate and experiment to serve its customers better.
Keynote speakers emphasized the importance of listening to customers to better understand and serve them. “As retailers, it’s our job to answer the question, ‘What desire can we fulfill for customers?’” said MediaMarktSaturn CEO Kai-Ulrich Deissner.
Oniwines CEO Federico Veronesi spoke about his family-run retail business that was founded by his father in 1986 in Italy with hosiery, and evolved into a multi-brand, multi-industry global powerhouse. The business was originally hyper-focused on its products. As consumer lifestyles evolved, the business was forced to focus on the experience — to make people fall in love with its products.
“Going to a store should be an experience like no other."
Best Buy Executive Vice President and Chief Supply Chain Officer Mark Irvin expressed a similar sentiment, saying, “Going to a store should be an experience like no other.”
Front-line employees are key to delivering these memorable and convenient experiences that customers have come to expect. At Best Buy, a culture of empowerment keeps employees engaged and ready to serve. Irvin said the company empowers store associates by giving them grace and the ability to make mistakes without being shunned. The company also invests in upskilling, and its vendor partners provide employees with the latest training for the products they sell.
SNIPES CEO Dennis Schröder delivered a powerful message: “Reach without relevance is worthless. Only a true connection to your community builds long-lasting brand loyalty. The more relevant and authentic you are to your community, the more results will follow.”
NRF Retail’s Big Show Europe was more than an event — it was a platform for building relationships, embracing new tools and learning from peers around the globe. As retail continues to evolve at an unprecedented pace, NRF remains committed to helping retailers succeed and serve consumers everywhere. Planning is already underway for an even more impactful 2026 edition of Retail’s Big Show Europe.
