Your dose of retail therapy

The year-long retail calendar enables a growth of the AED 128.45bn sector projected to grow further at 5.6 per cent to reach AED 160.7bn by 2021. Read on for an overview by industry insiders…

TT Bureau

His Excellency Sami Al Qamzi, Director General, Department of Economic Development (DED)
“The retail sector makes up a considerable volume of Dubai’s GDP. We are committed to consolidating efforts across Dubai to offer exceptional experiences in infrastructure, initiatives and incentives, in collaboration with the public and private sector, for the growth of retail industry. The DED, in collaboration with Dubai Tourism, will continue to build on Dubai’s already successful position as a favourable shopping destination.”

His Excellency Helal Al Marri, Director General, Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (Dubai Tourism)
“As one of the core pillars of destination offering, retail sector is on high priority for Dubai Tourism. In addition to increasing the number of international visitors to the emirate, we are also focused on enhancing the economic value. The strategic revisions made to the 2019 Retail Calendar mark a significant investment from Dubai Tourism to further enhance the wider domestic economy.”

Fuad Mansoor Sharaf, Managing Director, Majid Al Futtaim Properties, Shopping Malls (UAE, Bahrain and Oman)
“We support the vision of our industry partners at Dubai Tourism and are unified in our goal of making Dubai a leading shopping destination. In line with our aim to revolutionise the retail sector, we welcome an extended retail calendar and will leverage the additional events to create world-class in-mall entertainment to attract residents and visitors alike.”

Ahmed Al Khaja, CEO, Dubai Festivals and Retail Establishment (DFRE), Dubai Tourism
“We are constantly looking for ways to support and promote the retail sector within Dubai; from large retailers and mega global brands, to the smaller high-potential SME segment. Following detailed analyses with our strategic retail partners, we have introduced noteworthy changes to the new retail calendar. We have worked with DED to design a special incentive to take advantage of the myriad opportunities.”

Patrick Chalhoub, Co-CEO, Chalhoub Group
“The strategic direction of Dubai’s retail calendar has allowed for distributors and retailers of luxury fashion to be aligned with global trends, thereby shifting the vision from being a traditional company to a more agile organisation that is constantly responding to customers’ needs. As a result, this leads to driving footfall and overall expenditure, thereby helping us realise the potential of our growing range of retail and entertainment destinations.”

Omar Khoory, Managing Director, Nakheel Malls
“Dubai Festivals and Retail Establishment’s efforts to diversify and evolve the retail landscape in Dubai are aligned with our own objectives at Nakheel Malls. As we expand our malls portfolio, we look forward to more collaborations with exciting new shopping and leisure destinations like The Pointe and Nakheel Mall. We are proud to be a partner of the retail calendar and are busy setting out our strategy for 2019.”

Patrick BousquetChavanne, Chief Executive Officer, Emaar Malls
“With a gross leasable area of over 6.7 million square feet in Dubai, Emaar Mall Group assets include not only The Dubai Mall, but also Dubai Marina Mall, Souk Al Bahar and Gold & Diamond Park. With such an extensive portfolio, it’s crucial for us to work in close partnership with Dubai Festivals and Retail Establishment to create exciting events and promotions that attract local customers as well as international tourists.”

Renuka Jagtiani, Chairwoman and Chief Executive Officer, Landmark Group
“With over 50 brands within the Landmark Group, from homegrown retail concepts to international offerings, new and additional Retail Calendar Event initiatives are welcome developments. We will leverage the new Home Festival through our own brands Home Centre and Home Box, thereby activating an enriched programme of customer events and experiences.”