RECON26 (Retail Conference 2026) is an annual retail-property conference run by Property Council New Zealand, held 28–29 October 2026 at Auckland's NZICC under the theme 'Progress under pressure'. The 1.5-day programme pairs an Auckland CBD site tour with a full conference day of named keynotes — Shamubeel Eaqub, Kathryn Wilson, Baby Bunting's Mark Teperson and JLL — for retailers, investors and city-makers.
RECON26, the Retail Conference 2026, runs across 28–29 October 2026 at the New Zealand International Convention Centre (NZICC) in central Auckland, according to the official event listing from Property Council New Zealand. The programme spans a day and a half: a pre-conference retail site tour on 28 October (1:00pm–5:30pm) and a full conference day on 29 October in the NZICC's Te Paepae Theatre, with registration from 7:45am and a networking function running to the early evening. The 2026 edition is themed "Progress under pressure", framed around how the sector adapts to economic uncertainty, shifting consumer behaviour and the changing shape of city centres.
The conference is organised by Property Council New Zealand, the industry body for the commercial property sector, and is positioned as its premier retail event. Property Council chief executive Leonie Freeman opens and closes the day, and the organisation's Retail Committee and advocacy team feature on the agenda. RECON is an annual series, with the organiser's materials referencing prior 2024 and 2025 editions. It is worth noting the event is a retail-property conference run by Property Council NZ, not by Retail NZ.
Property Council NZ curates the conference for retailers, property investors, city-makers and industry professionals working across the retail and property sectors. The published programme is substantial and names its speakers: economist Shamubeel Eaqub opens with "Forecasting Retail", followed by a keynote from Juanita Neville-Te Rito of RX Group on the future of retail and asset design. Retailer keynotes come from Kathryn Wilson of Kathryn Wilson Footwear and Mark Teperson, chief executive of Baby Bunting, while JLL's Nick Willis and Todd Lauchlan discuss renewed retail investment. A cities panel draws leaders from Precinct Properties, Willis Bond and The Terrace, and former professional rugby player Tim Bateman (O-Studio) closes the day. Nadine Higgins is MC. The 28 October site tour, per the programme, walks delegates through Auckland CBD's transformation, including the City Rail Link's Te Waihorotiu Station, Downtown Auckland and Wynyard Quarter.
The NZICC at 101 Hobson Street is New Zealand's largest purpose-built convention centre, sitting in the heart of Auckland's CBD and confirmed by both the official event page and the venue's own listing. Its central-city location places delegates within walking distance of the retail precincts the conference examines, and the opening City Rail Link stations referenced in the programme are set to further improve CBD access. Auckland Airport sits roughly 20km south of the city centre, and the surrounding CBD offers extensive accommodation within walking distance of the venue, making the NZICC a practical base for a national delegate draw.
RECON26 is a recurring, professionally programmed business event anchoring a national sector conversation at New Zealand's flagship convention venue. Its combination of a named keynote line-up, an off-site CBD tour and an evening networking function illustrates the multi-format, multi-day business-events programming that the NZICC was built to host, and its annual cadence makes it a reliable fixture on the Auckland MICE calendar.
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