RLI GLOBAL AWARDS 2025 CATEGORIES & SHORTLIST
IN ASSOCIATION WITH CATEGORY PARTNERS: MK ILLUMINATION, DAISO INDUSTRIES CO. LTD & INNESCO
Short and Sweet Headlines are Best!
RLI Future Project
This award will celebrate excellence in a project that will challenge and inspire the future of retail and leisure and is a window into tomorrow’s world-class destinations. Please note full planning permission must have been granted to enter this category. Our panel will judge architectural excellence, innovation, imagination and dynamism as well as the positive impact that the development will have upon the local community. Please supply an outline of the original brief and the architect’s proposal to address this brief. Please also supply a synopsis of the development’s expected beneficial enhancement on community, locale and potential standing as a world-class destination.
Citystars Katameya, Cairo, Egypt
Grand Park Sports District, Indiana, US
INFINITI, Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia
MARAFY, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
RLI Most Anticipated
Opening 2025
This category will highlight those recently-opened retail & entertainment projects that people want to visit and return to. This award will be given to an individual scheme that can best demonstrate how it has used high quality design, sustainability and transformation to enhance a place. The judges will be looking at how the scheme has helped to generate sustained economic growth in a place or community, improving its physical and environmental quality and social wellbeing through the integration of retail, leisure & entertainment, arts, culture, sport and heritage.
*Projects in this category must have opened to the public in the period between 1 January 2024 and 21 March 2025.
Al Othaim Park Dammam, Dammam,
Saudi Arabia
Bayfront, Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia
Essensai067, Bangalore, India
Westfield Jeddah, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
RLI Most Innovative Retail & Entertainment Project
This category will highlight those recently-opened retail & entertainment projects that people want to visit and return to. This award will be given to an individual scheme that can best demonstrate how it has used high quality design, sustainability and transformation to enhance a place. The judges will be looking at how the scheme has helped to generate sustained economic growth in a place or community, improving its physical and environmental quality and social wellbeing through the integration of retail, leisure & entertainment, arts, culture, sport and heritage.
*Projects in this category must have opened to the public in the period between 1 January 2024 and 21 March 2025.
On Air Flandre, Paris, France
RLI Most Innovative Retail & Entertainment Concept
This category will be awarded to an individual retail & entertainment concept that since inception has displayed originality and exceptional performance, creating a concept that guests want to experience again and again. The judging panel will take into consideration the unique concept on offer and the innovative and experiential elements it offers its customers.
Angry Birds World, Doha, Qatar
Beauty Select and Fashion Select at SKP-S Wuhan, Wuhan, China
Gravity MAX, London, UK
Snow Dunes, Doha, Qatar
RLI International Retail & Leisure Destination
This category celebrates a new destination which delivers an outstanding contribution to the global retail & leisure sector. It will reward a mixed-use destination that has created an extraordinary experience for guests and tenants alike, becoming a beacon that people from around the world aspire to visit.
*Projects in this category must have opened to the public in the period between 1 January 2024 and 21 March 2025.
Intercontinental Indianapolis, Indiana, US
J1 Beach, Dubai, UAE
The Exchange TRX, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
RLI International Shopping Centre - Renovation
This award will be presented to a centre that demonstrates innovation in its renovation through architecture and design, how it has contributed to the overall regeneration of the town, city or area, its contribution to the local community and the steps it has taken to reimagine the shopping experience, whilst improving sustainability.
*Refurbished/extended projects in this category must have opened to the public in the period between 1 January 2024 and 21 March 2025.
Sponsored by:
Alandalus Mall, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Hayat Mall, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
RLI International Outlet Centre
This award celebrates the increased popularity of the outlet model with shoppers and developers alike in recent years. The aim of this category is to reward innovation and design-led excellence in a new scheme that offers both retailers and customers the very best in terms of brand and community cohesion.
*Projects in this category must have opened to the public in the period between 1 January 2024 and 21 March 2025.
UNICO Outlet Bucaramanga,
Bucaramanga, Colombia
RLI Most Innovative Marketing Campaign
Step into the spotlight with an award that celebrates bold ideas and ground-breaking execution. The RLI Most Innovative Marketing Campaign recognises the campaign that didn’t just capture attention - it transformed the way audiences connect with a brand. This is your opportunity to showcase the creative ingenuity that redefined engagement and set new industry benchmarks. Our judging panel is looking for campaigns that sparked a buzz, built bridges and broke the mould.
Beauty Unbound, The TRX Exchange,
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia by The Exchange TRX
Enchanted Forest, Perisur,
Mexico City, Mexico by MK Illumination
Trafford Centre Wowbeing, Trafford Centre,
Manchester, UK by BWP Group
TRX Eats, The TRX Exchange,
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia by The Exchange TRX
RLI International Retailer of the Year
This award highlights the retailer that our judges believe to be a truly world-class operator across all facets of the business, delivering exceptional growth, adaptation and transformation of the brand to reflect evolving industry trends. With retailing becoming ever more complex and demanding, the judges will be looking for an innovative brand that meets the criteria with a clear development strategy for international expansion.
Daiso Industries Company Limited
RLI Emerging Market Retailer
This award will be presented to an emerging market retailer that best represents the essential retail qualities of entrepreneurship, originality and flexibility. Our judges will be looking for a business that can demonstrate that they have a robust and growing retail format whilst examining the part it is playing in the development of the emerging economies.
Majid Al Futtaim Lifestyle
RLI Sustainable Retailer of the Year
Sustainability is becoming a growing concern for consumers. This category will reward a retail or brand owner that has made a meaningful impact on the environment by understanding and addressing the challenges of sustainability; recognising the importance of social responsibility and providing goods that are ethically sourced and produced.
Aranyani
Bocan
RLI Most Innovative F&B Concept
F&B services have become a vital element of any retail and leisure destination and they are transforming shopping centres, destinations and outlets into convivial lifestyle ventures. This award highlights the very best and innovative F&B concepts across the globe and our judging panel will be looking at the authenticity, quality and experience that each concept offers its customers.
Barnhouse
J1 Beach
lebua Hotels & Resorts
World Kitchens
RLI Most Immersive Attraction & Experience
Immersive attractions and experiences are emerging as a strength of the retail and leisure industry and are key to invigorating shopping centres and destinations. In this category, judges are looking for an attraction or experience that completely immerses the customer in a unique and innovative way that stands out from the crowd whilst also engaging through technology.
VIRTUOCITY
RLI Developer of the Year
This award is designed to highlight the Developer which showcases their best new retail and leisure schemes recently completed, currently under construction and proposed to start, with an emphasis on diversity, innovation and of course, the ‘wow’ factor. Please ensure that submissions include a broad cross-section of your portfolio.
Sponsored by:
Keystone Group
ROSHN Group
RLI Interior Excellence
This award recognises those companies who have implemented an imaginative, innovative and immersive environment which delivers a stand-out customer experience. The winner of this award will have reinvented the traditional meaning of a retail or leisure interior that enables operators to connect with their customers.
Beauty Select and Fashion Select at
SKP-S Wuhan, Wuhan, China by Malherbe Paris
Hayat Mall, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia by Cracknell Landscape
The Georgian at Harrods, London, UK by umdasch Store Makers
RLI Innovation in Technology Award
This award pays tribute to the rise of technology and the way it is being increasingly utilised in the retail and leisure real estate industry. Businesses can nominate their most outstanding digital innovation demonstrating how it was delivered, the difference it has made and its commercial success. The judges will be looking for technical excellence in creating an outstanding product or service that has the potential to revolutionise the industry creatively, innovatively and effectively whilst making a significant positive impact. Each entry will need to describe strategic objectives, execution and results.
El Boulevard