In pictures: Sharjah’s all-new shopping mall aims for experiences

The City Centre Al Zahia in Sharjah is not any other mega shopping destination that UAE’s retail sector and its shoppers are all set to welcome. It is the first such mixed-use development to have opened in the new reality that is COVID-19.

It’s a mall that has opened as health and safety guidelines remain entrenched. Definitions of how well the mall is operating will be based on not just the shopper traffic it will attract but in how well their safety is taken care of.

In this regard, the 1.36 million square feet that the mall covers provide the space and spacing that today’s socially-responsible shopping and leisure environment needs.

The project, owned and operated by Majid Al Futtaim Group, has worked on the entertainment options to ensure that the in-mall offerings are not just another add-on. In April, there will be the introduction of a nine-hole mini golf course to keep an older generation of visitors busy. Above, shoppers at Carrefour.

“Our new concepts, such as a first-of-its-kind interactive mini golf, are designed to capture the growing experience-seeking consumer base and allow for strong transversal users including adults,” said Cameron Mitchell, CEO of Majid Al Futtaim Cinemas and Majid Al Futtaim Leisure & Entertainment.

The 16-screen multiplex comes with two MAX mega-screens - including the largest cinema screen in Sharjah. Above, Vox Cinemas at City Centre Al Zahia.

And there will be a lot of adults and kids that the City Centre Al Zahia can cater to. The mall is targeting a potential audience of 1.9 million residents in the general vicinity, and whose numbers will further rise with the completion of the Al Zahia residential community, being developed by Majid Al Futtaim through a joint venture. Above, Magic Planet at City Centre Al Zahia.

“VOX Cinemas City Centre Al Zahia marks our fourth cinema opening across the region in the wake of COVID-19,” said Mitchell. “Cinemagoers have demonstrated time and time again the desire to experience the shared, exhilarating and unrivalled experience of watching a movie on the big screen. The recent reopening of movie theatres in Los Angeles and New York, is a major step towards recovery of the box office.”

In the coming weeks, the retailers will be taking their places, occupying more than 300 outlets. The expectation is that the newness and the sheer breadth of new offerings would bring in the initial visitor numbers, and which will then repeat itself.

Shoppers at the Carrefour Hypermarket at City Centre Al Zahia.

VOX Cinemas, Magic Planet and Bowling have opened in compliance with government guidelines. These include strict sanitisation and physical distancing measures.

Even when COVID-19 turns into a distant memory – and an unwelcome one at that – malls, retailers and shoppers will have to live with its legacy. As the UAE’s first shopping and leisure destination to open during a time of the pandemic, the City Centre Al Zahia throws down a marker for the future. The future of retai. Above, visitors watch as artists playing Tom & Jerry tunes.

Fuad Sharaf — Managing Director, UAE Shopping Malls, Majid Al Futtaim Properties during a media tour of City Centre Al Zahia.

Classic cars on display at City Centre Al Zahia, Sharjah.

Magic Planet, which spans over two floors.

Bowling centre with an eight-lane bowling alley, digital scorekeeping computers and video simulations.

A visitor admires artworks displayed at The Studio in City Centre Al Zahia.