Older malls may be forced to reposition themselves

As more shopping malls are built in Dubai, the established retail outlets will have to reposition themselves in the market, a mall executive said.

"While it may seem there are too many malls on-stream, demand will absorb most of the new outlets," said general manager Andrew Chambers of the Gardens Shopping Mall, which is set to open next month.

He said while the better of the big malls would still be successful, the smaller, older malls will "do what has happened in many economies. They may change their use, they may change their style.

"But with the growth of Dubai, even if you are not an optimist, you can see that most of the retail outlets coming on-stream will be absorbed by demand," he said.

Studies show the growth in population in Jebel Ali, which he dubbed the "New Dubai," would be able to sustain the proliferation of shopping malls, he said.

Chambers said in just three years there will be about 200,000 residents within five minutes of the Gardens.

He spoke of such developments as Dubai Marina and the Discovery Gardens (which will stretch all the way to the Emirates Road).

The 3,000 furnished studio apartments, which will be completed by the end of the year, have already been fully leased, he said.

The "southern corridor" beyond junction one (Defence Roundabout) on Shaikh Zayed Road is a key area of residential growth, according to studies.

The population here is expected to increase rapidly by 2008. At present, more than 30,000 people visit the Jebel Ali Free Zone every day.

Chambers said the "key driver" for the Gardens Mall was its favourable position.

"It is the first mall Abu Dhabi customers will hit," he said, adding it is also closest to the two major Palm developments.

Studies also show that more than 50 per cent of Abu Dhabi residents regularly shop and enjoy the entertainment facilities in Dubai.

He said an interesting phenomenon is that people enjoy coming to Dubai with their families for the weekend because it is a different experience.

The manager said his mall would also cater to tourists. About 11 million tourists visit Dubai in a year and that figure is expected to double over the next five years.

"Generally there is a very high spend by Dubai shoppers," Chamber said.

He said shopping is not a functional task, "as much as an entertainment and a pastime. People will come, go to the cinema, eat and do their shopping."

Dubai has assimilated and experimented with all the latest food trends around the world, he said.

"It has already gone past the fast food, the junk food trend. People are now looking for healthier alternatives. This has happened in three or four years, while in the Western countries it took 20," said Chambers.

Talking about the weekend traffic jams he said: "The contemporary view is that in a big population area, people tend to go out of the city to shop, not back into the city.

"I live in the city and can never predict how long it will take, certainly not on Wednesdays and Thursdays,"

The Gardens Mall was initially going to be a "big box outlet", but the design was changed to make it a themed mall. The mall is based on the travels of Ibn Batuta, the Islamic explorer.

"The exciting part is North Africa, where the entire ceiling replicates the natural sky.

"In a one-hour period it goes from dawn to dusk," Chambers said.

The mall will also feature large-scale models of various Islamic inventions.

"There is a fully working ten-metre high water clock to show that Islamic scholars invented timepieces much earlier than Europeans did."

The mall is anchored by the French hypermarket Géant, the first to open in Dubai and identical to its newest store in France.