Dubai: New malls in Abu Dhabi will focus on offering good entertainment facilities and food and beverage outlets, according to industry experts at the InRetail Summit, which opened in Dubai on Sunday.
For instance, Yas Mall, which is expected to open in November, will feature an entertainment centre by Landmark Leisure.
Successful malls need to incorporate certain elements, including enough parking space, and good facilities, food and beverage brands and entertainment centres, said Andrew Williamson, head of retail for the Middle East and North Africa at JLL. Combining these elements will help drive footfall at malls, he said.
“If there’s footfall, and you have good brands, the stores will do well. If stores do well, they pay higher rents,” he said.
Currently, there is 2.2 million square metres of retail space in Abu Dhabi, around half of that is mall-based, according to Williamson. In the second half of the year, 418,000 square metres of retail space is expected to enter the market.
The average retail rents in the city for the previous quarter stood at Dh3,000 per square metre, higher than last year, due to the market’s growth, Williamson said. Meanwhile, occupancy rates for the emirate’s destination malls, such as Abu Dhabi Mall and Al Wahda Mall, stand at over 95 per cent, he said.
