InFocus | Dubai Shopping Festival
Dubai Retail to offer more DSF destinations
Dubai Retail, a subsidiary of Dubai Properties, will expand its retail space from the current 770,000 square feet and add another 175,000 with the Bay Avenue coming online for the next edition of Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF), top company official said.
- By Nadia Saleem, Staff Reporter
- Published: 22:59 January 29, 2009
Dubai: Dubai Retail, a subsidiary of Dubai Properties, will expand its retail space from the current 770,000 square feet and add another 175,000 with the Bay Avenue coming online for the next edition of Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF), top company official said.
Haiyan Mujarkech, chief executive of Dubai Retail, told Gulf News that Bay Avenue's two floors of retail space, with 177 outlets, would be another outdoor and indoor venue for shopping and dining. Designed around the lifestyle concept, similar to that of The Walk at Jumeirah Beach Residence (JBR), it will serve a niche market. The new retail venue will be located at Business Bay, the Dh110 billion master development by Dubai Properties.
The latest inclusion to DSF events, with its 770,000 square feet of retail space within the Dh7.3 billion, waterfront community of JBR is The Walk. One of the major sponsors of DSF 2009, the venue has 305 retailers and 350 shops stretched out over 1.7 kilometres of beachfront,
During DSF 2009, various arts and cultural events have been brought in for visitors, resulting in footfall numbers "beyond expectations".
"We were starting to be concerned about how many people were coming to the location due to traffic jams and long waits for parking," said Mujarkech.
It is becoming a destination, even for the tour buses, he said, adding that the DSF office recognises the venue as a major destination in Dubai, to include it in its family of events.
While The Walk witnesses most of the crowd on the Grade Level, there are about 200 retail shops on the Plaza Level. The shops along the boulevard are only one third of the total retailers.
Speaking of the response from the retailers during the shopping extravaganza, Mujarkech said that it has been very positive. "The crowds are there. If the retailers are selling the right product, the people will buy."
The retail development and managements solutions company currently has 5.2 million square feet of retail space in its portfolio, the majority of which are under development. The company aims to expand out of the UAE and into the Middle East in coming years.
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