On Thursday 20 November, RetailDetail will be hosting the 13th edition of RetailDetail Night, the annual end-of-year party for the retail sector in the Benelux.

In a nutshell:

When? Thursday 20 November 2025
Where? In the unique Handelsbeurs in Antwerp
Who’s attending? More than 400 b2b retailprofessionals!
Agenda? Choice between two afternoon programmes, followed by a seated dinner at tables for 10 people. Afterwards, a walking dessert buffet, ideal for networking!
A line-up with among others: Wouter Kolk (former ceo Ahold Delhaize Europe & Indonesia), MediaMarkt (Olivier van den Bossche), Carrefour (Geoffroy Gersdorff), JBC (Anaïs Claes), Trendwolves (Tom Palmaerts), Gino Van Ossel (Retail Year Overview) & many more!

HOW TO GET YOUR TICKETS:

Order an individual ticket, including pre- and main programme, as well as dinner.
Order a personalised table (10 people) for your company. This is an ideal moment to end the year on a positive note together with your team and/or your closest relations. Your 10 guests will thus have access to the entire event, including dinner.

WATCH THE AFTERMOVIE 2024

Order your tickets or table here:

MAIN PROGRAM

During this edition, we will bring you a main programme featuring renowned speakers from the retail sector.

Wouter Kolk is one of the heavyweights of European retail. He built his career at Ahold Delhaize, where he led Gall & Gall, Etos and Albert Heijn, and later, as CEO Europe & Indonesia, oversaw more than ten retail formats across nine countries. Earlier, he also headed WE Fashion. With his international experience, strategic insight and strong vision on the future of retail, he consistently sets the tone. At RetailDetail Night 2025 he will engage in an open conversation – not only on stage, but also directly with the audience.

In 2022, Geoffroy Gersdorff became the first Belgian CEO of Carrefour Belgium, the company where he began his career in 1997 (when it was still GB) and held various positions, both in Belgium and at group level. He succeeded in turning the retailer around and getting it out of the red last year. Drawing on his wealth of international experience, he can shed light on the trends and challenges that characterise the retail sector today.

Since 11 August 2025, Olivier van den Bossche has been General Managing Director Benelux at MediaMarkt, where he also holds the role of Country Manager Sales. The Belgian executive built an international career at Rituals, Metro AG and Galeria Inno, and most recently leading Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof. With his in-depth knowledge of the Benelux market and extensive retail experience, he seamlessly combines strategy with hands-on execution. At the RetailDetail Night, he will engage in an open and candid conversation.

During RetailDetail Night, Anaïs Claes, Sustainability Manager at Claes Retail Group (JBC, Mayerline and CKS), will join the panel discussion during the evening programme. Together with Olivier van den Bossche (MediaMarkt) and Wouter Kolk (formerly of Ahold Delhaize), among others, she will share her vision on the future of retail.

Claes is responsible for the sustainability policy within the group’s fashion brands, focusing on both ecological and social impact. Under her coordination, the Claes Retail Group achieved “Good” status on the Fair Wear Brand Performance Check in 2024 – the highest score to date. Her contribution promises a fresh perspective on how retail companies can become future-proof, from the factory to the shop.

Peter Theunis (Visa) is a recognised leader in the payments and fintech industry, with over 25 years of experience spanning digital banking, financial inclusion, and cross-border payments.

His career includes senior roles across Europe, the Middle East, and APAC, and he has played a pivotal role in shaping strategic growth and innovation in the financial sector. He has held leadership positions at BPC Banking Technologies, Endava, AEDP/Ministry of Finance UAE, TAS Group, OpenWay, and Clear2Pay, and co-founded two successful ventures, Integri and Radar Payments. His expertise covers card issuing, merchant acquiring, scheme compliance, and the broader digital payments ecosystem. Peter brings a forward-looking vision to the industry, focused on driving transformation through technology, fostering financial inclusion, and building collaborative ecosystems that support sustainable growth.

Gino Van Ossel (professor at Vlerick Business School) combines academic depth with a sharp eye for practice. He has published several books and is a highly sought-after speaker on consumer behavior, omnichannel and retail strategy. Known for his clear analyses and unconventional style, he will once again present his annual review of the retail landscape at RetailDetail Night 2025.

Are you ready for the future? Not sure about the answer? That’s okay. Life sometimes moves so fast that the future makes us dizzy. But how can we become future-proof?

Tom Palmaerts has been travelling the world for years with one goal in mind: to get people excited about the future. We cannot predict the future, but by framing small vibrations within larger evolutions and trends, we can imagine possible futures. Tom Palmaerts investigates which social phenomena will be important in the next ten years. He likes to play with future thinking… but future thinking is only interesting if we can start working with it today.

BD Media, the market leader in door-to-door communication distribution, presents the latest results of the Leaflet Attitude Study, developed in collaboration with NIQ. During this session, Managing Director Leen Dehantschutter will share some remarkable insights into the evolution of consumer attitudes and the continued relevance of leaflets within the media landscape. As tradition dictates, the event will conclude with the presentation of the awards for the best leaflets of the year.

PRE-PROGRAMS

During RetailDetail Night, you can choose between two themed pre-programs in the afternoon:

“Fail forward”: failure as a learning opportunity
Gamechangers

1/ “FAIL FORWARD”: FAILURE AS A LEARNING OPPORTUNITY

We all stumble sometimes. Failure does not have to be a negative experience: it can be a source of inspiration for growth and development. To err is human, and we often learn the most from our mistakes. Yet entrepreneurs are often reluctant to share the lessons they have learned from failure. That’s a shame, isn’t it?

RetailDetail found a few brave retailers who were willing to talk about their inspiring failures. In this pre-programme, there will be no slick PowerPoint presentations: our participants will engage in open conversation with moderator Stefan Van Rompaey, with colleagues and with you, the audience.

“Learn from the mistakes of others. You can’t live long enough to make them all yourself.” (Eleanor Roosevelt)

PANEL MEMBERS

Pascale Switten

Cameleon’s bankruptcy was a profound experience for CEO Pascale Switten: ‘Together with my partner and a dedicated team, I worked with conviction to build a sustainable transformation. We searched intensively for financial solutions, but the structural challenges proved too great. Nevertheless, pride prevails: pride in our people, our values and our resilience.’ She would like to share this experience at RetailDetail Night, as both a reflection and inspiration.

Stijn Martens

Pioneered the first Flemish online supermarket, Hopr. Launched in 2021, discontinued in 2025 after an ‘educational journey’.

Mark MJ Vandevelde

Co-founder of the sustainable sneaker brand Komrads, which threw in the towel in August 2025 due to an unfavourable economic climate.

Alain Hellebaut

‘The only real mistake is not taking action or trying something for fear of failure,’ says Alain Hellebaut, who will share some valuable lessons learned during crises in this preliminary programme, drawing on his wealth of experience as a retail manager, including a successful relaunch for Maxi Toys.

2/ GAMECHANGERS

During the Gamechangers pre-programme, you will be treated to four keynote speeches. Each speaker will share an inspiring story.

Stefanie Grijp

Stefanie Grijp is commercial manager for Q8‘s Shop&Go and The Shop retail formats in Belgium and Luxembourg. She has been with Q8 for six years and has been at the helm of a strategic change in Q8’s retail approach for the past year and a half.

Willem Wijnen

At RetailDetail Night, Willem Wijnen looks back on his first year as CEO of Xandres. The Dutchman, who has had an impressive career in the fashion sector, from The Sting and Men at Work to Van de Velde, is a game changer who is committed to timeless fashion with a long lifespan at Xandres – from the “Repair & Care” restoration programme to the second-hand initiatives of Xandres Preloved. ‘We are not an eco-brand,’ says the company, ‘but we strive every day to do better.’

The keynote promises to offer an inspiring insight into how Xandres manages to combine tradition, innovation and responsibility in a changing fashion world.

Eric Spapens

Eric Spapens is hoofd Business Development voor Visa in België en Luxemburg, gevestigd in Brussel. Als leider in de betalingssector met meer dan 10 jaar ervaring helpt hij bedrijven om innovatie in handel en digitale transacties te omarmen.

Bij Visa leidt Eric strategische initiatieven die de samenwerking met handelaren, acquirers, fintechbedrijven en financiële instellingen verdiepen. Hij begon zijn carrière in de detailhandel bij Decathlon, maakte carrière bij Sony en Orange op het gebied van de digitalisering van consumentenelektronica en bekleedde eerder leidinggevende functies bij Worldline.

TIMETABLES

TIMETABLE PRE-PROGRAMS

TIMETABLE PREPROGRAM: FAIL FORWARD

14h00 – 14h30: Welcome @ Handelsbeurs
14h40 – 15h00: Alain Hellebaut
15h00 – 15h20: Pascale Switten
15h20 – 15h40: Stijn Martens
15h40 – 16h20: Break
16h20 – 16h40: Mark MJ Vandevelde
16h40 – 17h20: Panel + Recap
17h20 – 18h00: Reception main program

TIMETABLE PREPROGRAM: GAMECHANGERS

14h00 – 14h30: Welcome @ Handelsbeurs
14h40 – 15h10: Q8 – Stefanie Grijp
15h10 – 15h40: Xandres – Willem Wijnen
15h40 – 16h20: Break
16h20 – 16h45: RetailDetail – Jorg Snoeck
16h45 – 17h15: Visa – Eric Spapens
17h15 – 18h00: Reception main program

TIMETABLE MAIN PROGRAM

17h30 – 18h00: Reception
18h00 – 18h15: Welcome by Visa
18h15 – 18h35: Gino Van Ossel – Retail year overview
18h35 – 19h00: Panel Debate
19h00 – 19h50: First course
19h50 – 20h20: Tom Palmaerts
20h20 – 21h00: Main course
21h00 – 21h20: Folder van het Jaar awards
21h20 – 23h00: Dessert buffet + Networking