Dubai: Dubai’s Mall of the Emirates unveiled its new retail extension on Monday, aimed at meeting consumer demand for new brands to the market, according to a top company executive at its operator Majid Al Futtaim.
The 36,000 square metre extension features 40 new retail, dining and entertainment outlets, including 20 fashion brands, 12 restaurants and a new 24-screen Vox Cinema.
“We are building on demand of our customers... they have asked for more new brands and this is what we have done here,” Michael Cesarz, chief executive of the shopping malls’ business unit at Majid Al Futtaim Properties, told Gulf News on the sidelines of a press conference in Dubai on Monday.
Cesarz said that the extension will boost footfall this year, but declined to say how much. The number of European and Russian tourists shopping in the UAE has dropped since last year, as the weaker euro and rouble have made the country more expensive for them.
“There’s a drop in tourists in Dubai. We don’t know how big the impact on our mall will be. On the other hand, we see increasing footfall coming from the communities around Mall of the Emirates, so we are catching up,” Cesarz said, adding that footfall in the first half of this year grew by 3 per cent compared to last year.
Asked if an Apple store will open at Mall of the Emirates, he said: “I don’t want to be part of speculation.”
A number of reports have suggested tech giant Apple will open two stores in the UAE, one each in Mall of the Emirates and Yas Mall in Abu Dhabi.
Expansion
Dubai-based Majid Al Futtaim plans to grow its business over the next five years, doubling its retail space to 2.1 million square metres, according to Cesarz.
It is in talks to acquire malls in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, he said, but declined to give more details.
“We are in acquisition phase in the UAE for two malls in Abu Dhabi. We are in talks for malls in Dubai, but we are in early stages,” he said.
Meanwhile in Egypt, it currently plans to build up to eight new malls, including four community centres. It plans to open Mall of Egypt next year.
“We are just starting with the groundwork for [City Centre] Almaza. [City Centre Maadi] is an existing mall that we’re going to expand,” Cesarz added.
The new extension at Mall of the Emirates represents the third phase of a Dh1 billion redevelopment project, dubbed Evolution 2015.
Some of the brands that have debuted in the Middle East through Mall of the Emirates include British fashion house All Saints, apparel brand Lululemon Athletica and restaurant Omnia Baharat, according to Majid Al Futtaim.
The new VOX Cinemas has the Middle East’s first IMAX with laser screen, the largest Vox 4DX auditorium in the region, a Theatre by Rhodes and two Vox Kids cinemas with an adjoining party room.
The first phase was completed last year with the opening of the Fashion District — a Dh100 million new precinct that features some first-time boutique brands to the UAE, such as McQ, Halston Heritage, Alice and Olivia and Maje.
The second phase included a new taxi rank located next to Ski Dubai, which represented an investment of Dh10 million.
Mall of the Emirates also increased its car park capacity by building a parking deck on Level 4, creating 1,300 new spots.
Cesarz said that the mall could be expanded further, but there are no plans at present.
