Dimas Gimeno

Dimas Gimeno

Visionary of Phygital Retail & Former President of El Corte Inglés

Core Intelligence Domain: Retail & Omnichannel Strategy
Location: Madrid, Spain | Languages: Spanish, English
Representation: Represented globally by PSpeakers Global Intelligence

Dimas Gimeno is a highly esteemed retail strategist, investor, and the former President of El Corte Inglés, Europe’s largest department store group. With a distinguished career at the absolute forefront of the global retail sector, Gimeno has established himself as a leading C-suite authority on the digital transformation of physical commerce, pioneering the strategic framework known as the ‘phygital’ revolution. He currently serves as the Founder and President of WOW Concept, a groundbreaking retail ecosystem in Madrid that seamlessly fuses digital and physical shopping, alongside his role as Founding Partner of Kapita, a specialised investment fund dedicated to scaling high-impact retail technology start-ups.

Executive Leadership & Retail Transformation

During his tenure at the helm of El Corte Inglés, Dimas Gimeno guided the legacy organisation through one of its most critical periods of modernisation. Tasked with fiercely competing against aggressive global e-commerce giants, he successfully leveraged the company’s massive physical footprint to create a highly competitive omni-channel ecosystem. Under his leadership, the group implemented advanced digital infrastructures, modernised corporate logistics, and reimagined the traditional customer experience for a modern audience.

Today, as the primary architect of WOW Concept, Gimeno is actively rewriting the rules of the commercial landscape. WOW operates not merely as a department store, but as a dynamic, phygital platform where digitally native brands can interact with consumers in immersive physical spaces, and legacy brands can adopt agile, tech-driven retail models. Complementing this operational foresight, his strategic investments via Kapita actively shape the future of the sector by funding, mentoring, and scaling the next generation of retail technology innovators.

Proprietary Frameworks & The Retail Reset

Dimas Gimeno is the co-author of “Retail Reset,” a seminal manifesto outlining a proprietary framework for legacy retailers to adapt and thrive in an era of rapid digitisation. His methodology challenges the conventional narrative of the “retail apocalypse,” arguing instead for a strategic renaissance where physical stores evolve into experiential hubs supported by robust, invisible technology.

Key Speaking Themes

• The Phygital Revolution: Designing retail strategies that flawlessly integrate physical and digital touchpoints to create a seamless, immersive customer journey.
• The Retail Reset: Actionable blueprints for legacy retailers to adapt, innovate, and capture market share in an e-commerce-dominated environment.
• Omni-channel Executive Leadership: Navigating complex digital transformations, managing cultural shifts, and driving innovation within large-scale, traditional organisations.
• Retail Tech Innovation: Identifying and leveraging emerging technologies—including artificial intelligence, augmented reality, and advanced supply chain logistics—to gain a definitive competitive edge.
• The Future of Cities and Commercial Spaces: Understanding how evolving consumer behaviours and new retail concepts will fundamentally reshape urban environments, high streets, and real estate.
• Investment & Scale in RetailTech: Insights from the venture capital perspective on where future value is being created and how start-ups are disrupting traditional commerce.

Key Takeaways

• Strategic Foresight: Actionable, proven frameworks for transforming legacy business models into agile, digital-first enterprises.
• Customer-Centric Innovation: Deep, data-backed insights into the rapidly evolving expectations of the modern, hyper-connected global consumer.
• Phygital Integration: Clear methodologies for bridging the gap between online convenience and in-store experiential engagement.