• Home
• Retail
• News Article

Global retailers make Festival Centre their first stop in Mideast expansion

Fourteen new stores open for business since the beginning of this summer

Dubai, September 17, 2009: Fourteen new international retailers occupying a total floor space of nearly 17,000 sq feet have opened their doors in Festival Centre - the award-winning retail precinct of Dubai Festival City .

This further reiterates the strong role Festival Centre continues to play in Dubai's retail space while also reconfirming the emirate's continuing position as a new force in global retailing.

Tom Miles, Director - Shopping Centres, Al-Futtaim Group Real Estate (AFGRE) said: "Despite the global economic slowdown, retailers have continued not just to internationalise, but to globalise and I'm happy to report that Festival Centre has become core to the recent retailer expansion activity witnessed around the world. With location, leisure, access and value advantage, Festival Centre has always had an edge in the local retail market which has resulted in a dramatic increase in visitor profile and high value footfalls."

Among the international brands that are attracting high visitor turnout is Build-a-Bear Workshop^® the globally recognised American retailer which opened its first store in the Middle East and MERC, the international symbol of classic British clothing that has survived five decades of trading.

Laura Ashley, Jerretelle Trading and Riverwood has also brought new fashion proportions to town, with Tamaris, Skin Food, Rossini Shoes and Agatha complementing with the accessories dimension. Yogurberry and Bert's Café will offer fine leisure dining while Palaces Jewellery and Zam Gems will add glitter to the Festival Centre sparkle. For those looking at revamping their residences, fashionable home furnishing accessories brand Degrenne Paris is now available. Plug-Ins has also opened its new Mobility store specialising in mobile phone devices and PDA-s, adjacent to the larger core store.

Festival Centre has become a standard fixture for showcasing excellence during Dubai's signature events including Dubai Shopping Festival, Eid in Dubai and Dubai Summer Surprises. The distinctive shopping, dining and entertainment experiences have also helped Festival Centre notch a 56% increase in footfall year on year.

According to CB Richard Ellis' recent report How Global is the Business of Retail? Dubai rivals New York and Paris as a leading international retail hot-spot. London has emerged as the most international retail city in the world, attracting 60% of the world's top retailers. London is followed by Paris (49%) and New York (47%) to round up the top three most popular destinations for retailers, but the surprise entry in fourth position is Dubai, enforcing its importance in the global retail landscape.

Festival Centre is the shopping and entertainment district of Dubai Festival City , the 1,300 acres waterfront mixed used development by Al-Futtaim Group Real Estate.

-Ends-

Dubai Festival City is an Al-Futtaim Group Real Estate development project. Al-Futtaim Group Real Estate is part of Al-Futtaim Group, one of the region's most progressive businesses with more than 80 years operating experience in Asia, Africa and Europe. Dubai Festival City is a world-class waterfront mixed-use urban community encompassing the finest, easily accessible shopping, dining, entertainment, homes, schools, hotels, offices and leisure in one place.

Dubai Festival City covers 1300 acres and stretches 3 kilometres along the historic Dubai Creek. It epitomizes the thriving and visionary spirit of Dubai. This self-contained metropolis will be the centrepiece of the new Dubai - a progressive urban community offering a lifestyle unmatched in terms of luxury, comfort, exclusivity, convenience, and value.

The award winning Festival Centre is a landmark 2.8m sqft urban retail resort which forms the epicentre of Dubai Festival City now acknowledged to be one of UAE's most exciting retail, dining and leisure attractions. Set on the historic Dubai Creek, Festival Centre , which celebrated its second anniversary in March 2009, offers over 400 world class retailers, 60 restaurants, cafés and bistros, a 12-screen Grand Festival Cinema complex and parking for more than 10,000 cars. It also boasts a stunning Marina and some of the emirate's most photographed sunset vistas.

Festival Centre is home to Dubai's premier concerts and festivals and has hosted world class entertainers such as Carlos Santana, Maroon 5, Tamr Hosni, Shah Rukh Khan and Kylie Minogue. It has also presented Dubai with a wide array of festivals from the Emirates Airlines International Festival of Literature through to Dubai Desert Rock and Dubai Bike Week. Festival Centre hosts events, parades, entertainers and musicians each week ensuring families are always engaged and rewarded for their visit.

© Press Release 2009