Dubai: Mall openings in the Gulf tend to be glitzy affairs and with all the attendant hype that come with them. The many outlets are dressed up in their decorative best and the intention is to make an impression right from the moment the doors are thrown open.

But the promoters of Doha Festival City did a complete 180-degree turn when they opened Phase 1 of the mall in March 2013. They had just the one outlet — Ikea (through it occupies a substantial 32,000 square metres) — put out the welcome mat. “It was always the plan and the primary aim was to have Qatar’s first Ikea store create market awareness of the mall that it forms a part of,” said Kareem Shamma, CEO of Bawabat Al-Shamal Real Estate Co, which owns the mall and in which UAE’s Al Futtaim Group is a key shareholder. “It put the project on the map, and at the same time it was important that Ikea started bringing in the visitor traffic and the revenues.

“As such, Ikea in the past has most often been associated as a standalone store and it was only in recent years came attached to malls.”

There were other subliminal messages that the promoters wanted to send out. “It’s one of the few projects that opened a key phase under budget and more or less on time as per the original plans,” said Shamma, who was in Dubai last week for a Middle East Council of Shopping Centres’ sponsored summit. “We had come across some scepticism in the wider marketplace whether these targets could be — those were answered decisively and it was also a big message sent out to retailers.”

And the retailer community is being ardently wooed by some of the most substantial mall developments being mounted in the region. Apart from the 250,000 square metres of gross leasable area that Doha Festival City will create — by September 2016 — there will be the Mall of Qatar (due to open next year) and Place Vendome, which will create 230,000 square metres of stock.

According to the consultancy DTZ, organised retail in Qatar would account for 780,000 square metres this year and would swell to 1.72 million square metres in 2016. “There are a number of new brands entering the market, though a number of these are still tied to the traditional large regional franchise operators,” said Mark Proudley, Associate Director for Consulting and Research, DTZ. “Mall of Qatar and Doha Festival City are expected to introduce a number of new brands. DTZ understands that a number of the new prime malls have already secured tenants for a high percentage of their accommodation.”

On the leasing side, it is coming along nicely for Doha Festival City, with more than 80 per cent of the space accounted for. (As a percentage of projected rental targets, it is now at the 70 per cent mark.) A 16-screen VOX multiplex has been confirmed and a “big” department store is expected to confirm its presence shortly.

“The project was launched after a significant deal of market research and the retail mix tailored to what the Doha retail space is in need off,” said Shamma. “There’s a burgeoning middle-class with a good appetite for luxury. It’s this market we are intent on capturing.”

Though he declined to go into specifics of what likely rentals will be, Shamma said these will be at a “slight premium” on prevailing rates.

But with all the massive new capacities, isn’t it still a bit of a stretch to get the expected kind of visitor numbers, and by extension, future sales for its retailers? “We are being realistic in our projections and none of these are pie-in-the-sky numbers,” said Shamma.

“It’s not about Qatar aiming to attract the kind of tourists Dubai now has. But the new capacity can be tailored to create more repeat visitors from within the region. Being a super-regional mall is not necessarily only about attracting the global tourists — the regional Gulf tourists with their spending powers can make just as much of an impact.”

But there will be a churning up when the new capacities make their presence felt. “There are some existing mall operators who are not up to international standards,” said Shamma. “Those properties may look nice and shiny from the outside, but they never made enough provisioning for ample parking or driving in or out of the mall. This is Retail 101 and they have got it wrong.

“Sure, there will be a weeding out of the weak when we open up with all our offerings and attractions.”