Business | Economy
Gulf retailers battle skill shortages
The Gulf's retail sector lacks a pool of skilled local graduates to fill top positions in shopping mall management and leasing, according to a key non-profit association representing the regional industry.
- By Robert Ditcham, Staff Reporter
- Published: 00:00 February 20, 2007
- The all too familiar site of a Dubai traffic jam. Traffic and infrastructure problems are worrying mall chiefs.
- Image Credit: Asghar Khan/Gulf News
Dubai: The Gulf's retail sector lacks a pool of skilled local graduates to fill top positions in shopping mall management and leasing, according to a key non-profit association representing the regional industry.
Mohammad Alawi, vice-president of the Middle East Council of Shopping Centres (MECSC) told Gulf News that colleges and universities need to provide more educational courses focused on the region's rapidly expanding retail sector to reduce reliance on foreign employees.
"There are billions of dollars invested into shopping malls, but there are minimal courses run by universities or colleges dedicated to creating a highly trained and qualified local labour force in the retail field," he said.
"This lack of local human resources is one of the biggest challenges facing the retail industry. Regional governments need to re-visit their education programmes for universities and technical schools to address this problem." Looking at other challenges facing the sector, Alawi said traffic and infrastructure problems are becoming a major concern for shopping mall operators - and not just in Dubai.
"Traffic congestion affects the flow of shoppers into the mall, the time people spend in the building and their choice of mall. It's becoming a nightmare in Dubai, but hopefully things will get better with the city's traffic strategy plans," said Alawi.
Alawi said traffic problems stem in part from lack of commercial zoning plans for individual areas of a city, which ensure that no two shopping malls overlap and create too heavy a burden on an area's road network.
"In this region in general we tend to be very poor with this aspect of planning, although Dubai is more advanced than other cities. With a shopping mall like BurJuman, you are talking about 25,000-40,000 visitors a day - it puts a lot of pressure on the infrastructure.
"In Jeddah you will find three or four regional malls on one 12-15 km street, but you go to the highly populated east side and there are very few malls."
Despite these shortcomings, Alawi said the GCC's retail sector is highly respected around the world.
"Mistakes were made in the past where a landlord managed a plot badly, allowing the land to sit idle with very few tenants, knowing that it was increasing in value on a monthly basis," he said. "Now landlords work towards a long-term vision and will work with someone who has expertise in retail and can maximise a malls' gross leasable area (GLA). They also regularly re-visit their tenant mix to see whether it meets the need of their catchment area.
"People respect this region and think they are developing A-class malls with an extremely wide mix of international brands."
EXPO
Top mall plans to be displayed
Some of the Middle East's most prestigious mall projects will be showcased at the upcoming Middle East Council of Shopping Centres Annual Convention.
The annual event, now in its 12th edition, will be held in Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre from March 19-20, bringing together retailers, mall developers, investors, leasing agents and service suppliers.
Officials at Dubai Properties say the real estate developer will showcase two of retail projects, The Walk at Jumeirah Beach Residence and Bay Avenue at Business Bay.
"Current market trends reveal the growing role of retail investment in the region's economy," said Mohammad Binbrek, CEO, Dubai Properties.
"As master developers, our vision is to see the integration of retail and commercial zones with residential developments in order to build self-sustaining communities that add value for the customer and contribute towards the growth of Dubai."
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