Saks Fifth Avenue for BurJuman

Saks Fifth Avenue - the upscale U.S. department store - will be the sole anchor at the BurJuman Centre expansion with an 80,000 square foot store.

This will be only the second Saks store in the Middle East - the first opened in Riyadh last year at the prestigious Kingdom Centre.

Saudi Arabia's high-profile Prince Alwaleed bin Talal is the regional franchise holder for Saks and the owner of Kingdom Centre.

Work on the Dh1.4 billion Burjuman expansion will be completed by the fourth quarter and open for shoppers by mid-December.

"Already 100 per cent of retail space available through the massive expansion has been taken up. Lease rates for the new space are comparable with the ongoing Burjuman rates in the market," said Eisa Ibrahim, general manager of BurJuman Centre.

"We are looking for a long-term relationship with our tenants. It does not make sense for us to raise our rates on the new expansion just because we have put in over Dh1 billion. The intention is to grow together."

Presently, 66 per cent of the construction work is over. On completion, the project will have an area of 4.4 million square feet, which is four times the existing space. It will also include a 22-storey office tower and a residential complex. Marketing of these facilities will start in November.

The number of retailers will climb from 190 to 300, as retail space increases to 800,000 square feet from 300,000.

The project promoters expect the daily traffic at the mall to climb exponentially from 18,000 to 28,000 once the new facilities come into being. The current conversion rate - of footfall to sales - is 70 per cent, one of the highest in the local market.

Three banks - Emirates Bank International, National Bank of Dubai and Mashreqbank - participated in financing the expansion with a Dh600 million facility.

"When BurJuman was first launched in 1992, it pioneered the mall culture in Bur Dubai and set the trend for landmark property development in the area," commented Majid Saif Al Ghurair, president of the centre.

"BurJuman launched this expansion programme to support Dubai Government's drive to further enhance the city's image as a year-round international shopping and leisure destination.

"Once the landmark project is completed, BurJuman will become the most significant development in the retail, leisure and entertainment industries in the Middle East."