Kuwait’s mall developers change tack for the times

Dubai: It is just about impossible for a mall developer from one of the other Gulf states to try and do something new in Dubai or Abu Dhabi. UAE based businesses have covered all possible bases with signature properties, and so much so there is little room for anyone from outside to come in and stake a fresh claim. There is no way anyone from outside can prise those doors open.

But it is a different sort of picture when it comes to developers trying their hand in markets other than the UAE and even further out in the region. Some of the biggest names have massive ongoing projects in Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar and Bahrain. But there is one exception to that rule — Kuwait.

As in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, local business groups there are keeping mall developments to themselves... and that’s the way they intend to keep it. “It’s a misconception that Kuwait’s mall scene is already saturated... most of the existing shopping destinations have been around for some time and even the new ones are a few years old,” said Shavak Srivastava, Board Member at Tamdeen Shopping Centers Co.

“The Kuwaiti shoppers’ buying power is extremely high and it’s vital for the retail sector here to offer newer concepts, either by way of large-scale expansions at existing malls or going in for new. But given the strict land usage regulations and even availability of large undeveloped land within the city, it makes more business sense for mall owners to expand.”

Tamdeen owns and operates the upscale 360 Mall and Al Kout. At the latter, a massive expansion is on, while a decision is awaited on what to do next at 360 Mall. (Kuwait’s largest mall, The Avenues, is owned by the Mabanee Company.)

“While most of the generic retailers are already represented at the many Kuwait’s malls, creating new retail stock offers mall owners an opportunity to bring in those international names that are still raising their profile in the Gulf,” said Srivastava. “Those are the tenants that will be targeted by the ongoing expansions.”

There is another strategy that Kuwait’s developers are deploying to expand their shopper base — become the go-to destinations for the free-spending Saudi tourists.

“Through the period of last year’s Eid, a substantial 290,000 visitors from Saudi Arabia came over and shopped in Kuwait — those are numbers that can be built upon,” said Srivastava. “Sure, Kuwait’s mall managements can always learn something from their counterparts in Dubai in how to create compelling reasons for to visit their properties year in and year out. What’s being built new in Kuwait is just not for domestic shoppers.

“The grand plan is to tap visitors from Iraq and Iran apart from Saudi Arabia and emerge as the ‘conservative tourist hub’ for them. That should be a doable in a longer term.”