Doha Festival City Mall inks deal with Saleh Al Hamad Al Mana Group of Companies / Harvey Nichols to bring London's iconic department store to Qatar

112,000 square foot store to anchor a host of flagship fashion, cosmetic and apparel brands

Doha, 14th March, 2015 - Doha Festival City, Qatar's largest retail and entertainment destination, in partnership with Qatar's prominent Saleh Al Hamad Al Mana Group of Companies, will become home to the world-famous luxury department store Harvey Nichols as it enters the Qatar market for the first time, in a move that will help establish Doha as one of the GCC's leading luxury fashion capitals.

The agreement was sealed during an official signing ceremony in Dubai last Thursday, March 12th, attended by Omar Al Futtaim, Vice Chairman of Al-Futtaim Group, one of Doha Festival City's four shareholders, and Hisham Saleh Al Mana, Chairman of Saleh Al Hamad Al Mana Group of Companies, who have struck up an exclusive license agreement with Harvey Nichols.

Hisham Saleh Al Mana confirmed that the three-level Harvey Nichols department store at Doha Festival City Mall will mark the brand's entry into the Qatari market and will be home to numerous flagship luxury fashion, cosmetics and apparel brands, making Doha Festival City the leading one-stop destination for all luxury brands and accessories in Qatar.

The 112,000 square foot store will enhance the mall's stable of luxury brands in a strategy designed to make this retail, leisure and entertainment destination the only choice for all of Qatar's residents and visitors.

"Bringing one of the world's most highly renowned department stores to Qatar for the first time is a significant milestone for Doha Festival City as it will meet and satisfy the country's sophisticated taste and appetite for luxury goods," said Kareem M. Shamma, Chief Executive Officer of BASREC WLL, the joint venture which comprises Dubai-based Al-Futtaim Real Estate Services, Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB), Aqar Real Estate Investment Company and a private Qatari investor.

"Of the 550 shops including more than 100 Restaurants, Cafes and Food Court outlets at Doha Festival City Mall, a large number of brands will be making their debut in the Qatari market. This will make our mall one of the region's leading shopping destinations and it will become a destination of choice for all of Qatar's residents and visitors," added Shamma.

Harvey Nichols opened its first store in London in 1831 on the corner of Knightsbridge and Sloane Street, and remains one of the most glamorous department stores in the world. This addition to the retail landscape in Qatar will contribute towards making Doha one of the GCC's leading fashion capitals.

"We are partnering with Doha Festival City Mall in bringing Harvey Nichols, one of the most prestigious retail stores, to Qatar and this is the ideal location to host such an iconic British institution. Qatar will be hosting the FIFA 2022 World Cup and will be paving the way as the center of attraction in the region" said Hisham Saleh Al Mana .

"Our Group is delighted to offer the high fashion conscious customers of Qatar this elite selection of designer products. We are very confident that with the variety of  lifestyle services, cafés, and dining options available within our Harvey Nichols store, customers will appreciate an unrivaled shopping experience" added Hisham Saleh Al Mana  

Other leading regional retail groups which will be opening fashion, dining and entertainment outlets at Doha Festival City include Alshaya, Al-Futtaim Group Retail Brands, Apparel, Azadea, Landmark, Dubai Holding Group, Abu Issa Group, Al Tayer Group, Salam Studio & Stores, and many other leading retailers in the region.

Vox Cinemas is also set to redefine the country's entertainment landscape with the introduction of a state-of-the-art movie theatre featuring 19 digital screens. The Ali Bin Ali Group will also introduce the country's first full-sized Monoprix store at Doha Festival City.

Last May, Doha Festival City announced the appointment of Gulf Contracting Company (GCC) and ALEC Qatar JV, a joint venture between two of the region's most experienced contractors to lead construction of the massive mall on this iconic project. The mall is already well under construction, and on programme for opening in the 3rd Quarter of 2016.

About Doha Festival City
Doha Festival City is one of the largest mixed-use developments in the Gulf. Comprising of 244,000 sq. m of GLA, its mall will be the largest in Qatar and one of the largest in the Middle East. It will house over 550 shops and stores through a carefully balanced selection of international and local brands including more than 100 restaurants, cafes, and food court outlets, state-of-the-art indoor and outdoor entertainment attractions including Qatar's first snow park and a cinema complex with 19 digital screens. Doha Festival City is accessible from most areas in the city in less than 20 minutes, with around 8,000 parking spaces, a five star hotel and convention centre.

About Saleh Al Hamad Al Mana Group of Companies
SALEH AL HAMAD AL MANA Group of Companies is a family owned, multinational entity that is Qatar-based established in the early 1950's, and it is one of the most successful Retail & Investment groups in the region. Having started in business as an importer and trader, the late founder Saleh Al Hamad Al Mana was an early visionary who could see the potential of the Qatar and Middle Eastern markets. Through his business successes, he diversified the portfolio to include investment, construction, automotive, real-estate, engineering and oil services. The business model, which he created, has now been further developed by his sons who are aggressively expanding the original business model to now include a very strong retail division, like Al Mana Luxury, Al Mana Fashion; as well as other business interests in Media, Hotels, and FMCG.

Today, renowned for its business reputation, vision, sustainability, strategy and service levels as well as its strong business relationships with key international brands and partners, SALEH AL HAMAD AL MANA Group of Companies has a strong business infrastructure and a diversified portfolio of brands and businesses throughout the GCC.

Through a wide variety of businesses and interests which sets the base for an ambitious future expansion in alignment with the development of the Middle-East market and its current and future potential, the focus of Saleh Al Hamad Al Mana Group of Companies strategy lays on the collaboration with selected high-profile key partners across the Middle East.

About Harvey Nichols Group
Harvey Nichols was founded in 1831 and is today the UK's premier fashion retailer, renowned both in the UK and internationally for the breadth and depth of its exclusive merchandise. It offers many of the world's most prestigious brands in womenswear, menswear, accessories, beauty, food and wine.

Harvey Nichols currently has stores in London, Leeds, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Manchester and Bristol in the UK, Dublin in the Republic of Ireland and internationally Riyadh, Hong Kong, Dubai, Turkey and Kuwait. The London flagship store is located in the heart of Knightsbridge, London's most fashionable and exclusive shopping district. The store has a gross floor area of approximately 220,000 square feet.

In addition to its fashion retailing business, Harvey Nichols successfully redeveloped the top floor of the London flagship store to create a Restaurant, Bar, Café, Wine Shop and Foodmarket which have become destinations in their own right. A similar concept operates from the top floors of all Harvey Nichols full-size stores.

Harvey Nichols launched its first stand-alone restaurant in 1996, the highly successful OXO TOWER Restaurant, Bar and Brasserie, with spectacular views of the River Thames. 

November 2012 saw the opening of Beauty Bazaar, Harvey Nichols, a globally innovative concept that provides the ultimate luxury beauty experience and the UK's first, one-stop beauty destination. Utilising 22,000 square feet of retail space, the store extends across three floors in the heart of Liverpool's fashion hub - Liverpool ONE.

In April 1996, Harvey Nichols obtained a full listing on the London Stock Exchange and for the subsequent period of almost seven years remained as a listed company. February 2003 saw the return of Harvey Nichols to private ownership and Harvey Nichols Group Limited is now owned by the Hong Kong based retail magnate, Dr. Dickson Poon whose retail businesses extend to North America, Europe, Japan, China and South-East Asia.

Further information on Harvey Nichols can be found on the website www.harveynichols.com.

© Press Release 2015