Dubai, UAE, July 8, 2009: Mall of the Emirates has been named the nation's 'Best Mall' in one of the most comprehensive independent retail studies ever undertaken in the UAE.

The research was conducted by Ethos Consultancy, one of the industry's regional leaders, and included 22 retail sectors across the country.

Ethos representatives made 2,300 shopping visits across Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah, with a defined set of criteria to establish the level of service. The mystery shoppers had to gauge how staff dealt with prospective buyers, how they responded to customers raising objections, their level of knowledge about products and services and their level of enthusiasm.

Thirty five shopping centres and malls were studied, covering 115 brands and 558 outlets, with Mall of the Emirates being recognised as home to the best performing stores.

"Outlets within Mall of the Emirates outperformed all other major shopping malls in UAE," said Ryan McMaster, Senior Service Quality Consultant at Ethos Consultancy. "It had the highest aggregate score of all major malls included in the study. This result indicates that outlets within Mall of The Emirates are committed to hiring and training capable staff who value their customers' needs, as well as their outlets' needs to meet sales targets," he added.

Fuad Sharaf, Vice President of the Mall of the Emirates, said he is always confident that the mall will perform extremely well against the competition. "Customer satisfaction is our number one priority at Mall of the Emirates and we work very closely with our retailers to ensure that there are regular and ongoing training programs designed to meet the needs of our valued consumers," he said.

"This independent survey has confirmed that our commitment to excellence has paid dividends and we are extremely pleased with the result. Our regular internal assessments always show a high customer satisfaction index, and so this is the perfect endorsement of our own findings," Sharaf concluded.   

It is the second time this year that the shopping centre has won a prestigious award and 18th in its young four year history.

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About Mall of the Emirates:
Mall of the Emirates, the world's first shopping resort, is located in Dubai at interchange four on Sheikh Zayed Road. The two-level shopping centre features 466 international brands including 220,000 sqm of department stores, fashion, lifestyle, sports, electronics and home furnishing outlets, the largest Carrefour in the city and over 60 stores that are unique to the centre. The compelling family leisure offer includes a Magic Planet family entertainment area, a 14-screen multiplex cinema, the world-renowned Ski Dubai - the Middle East's first indoor ski resort and snow park - a five star Kempinski hotel and 70 coffee shops and restaurants. Recently, the mall's 500 seat community theatre and accompanying arts centre - DUCTAC - opened its doors to the public.

The mall is undergoing its largest ever expansion programme with just under half a billion dirhams to be invested in new space and is due to be completed by the late summer of 2010. The project will see the addition of increased facilities for shopping, dining and parking, a direct link for Dubai Metro commuters and increased parking spaces to accommodate 750 vehicles.

For more information, please contact:
Komal Manglani
Polaris Public Relations
P. O. Box 32838, Dubai, UAE
Tel: +9714-3415555;
Fax: +9714-3415588
Email: k.manglani@polaris-me.com

© Press Release 2009