Tuesday, Jul 04, 2017
Dubai: It could be another year or two before Dubai sees another new mega-mall. But that’s not such a bother for retailers and the brands they carry — these days they can always head for the city’s many communities.
“It’s wise on the part of mall developers to slow down projects and push the next wave of openings to 2019-20,” said Shawqi Ganem, CEO of Grand Optics. “The action, as I see it, is now happening a lot in Dubai’s [residential] communities.”
So much so, the retail and F&B outlets at the city’s new and under-development communities are the most sought after in the current scheme of things. Upcoming communities still in the build-out mode are seeing most of their retail lease options already taken up.
And since each such community comes with a limited number of outlets, the brands who manage to get in have the field — nearly — all to themselves. There is less chance of a competing brand taking up a shop right next door, as is the case in city malls.
That Dubai’s communities are the places to be has been cited by A.T. Kearney’s latest global retail industry outlook, which states “Mall developers [are] sustaining consumer interest in a mature market through unique formats and strip malls designed for specific communities.”
And retailers, for their part, are making subtle changes in their formats and what they offer. While luxury/vanity sunglasses and frames remain its main focus, Grand Optics is busy building up a second line in the form of prescription lenses.
“We are bringing in the latest from Carl Zeiss, who is the world leader in medical lenses,” said Ganem. “Carl Zeiss was present in a few locations in the UAE for many years... but the brand was not being taken care of to its fullest possibilities.
“We became its key account in the UAE two years ago — now, with the growth in communities, there’s a need for specialised neighbourhood service offerings. With the Carl Zeiss tie-in and our community locations, we are creating an opportunity for more regular visits by shoppers. It’s for a medical need and for that they have to make the visit to a physical store.”
Ganem does not, however, see Grand Optics pitching up within the city’s main-line health care centres. “A hospital presence can only serve a limited audience. Currently, we have 40 locations in the UAE, but not a single street-side store. Apart from malls, communities will remain our major area for expansion.” But there will be points of differentiation — an in-mall store would be about 120 square metres while community locations would need only 70 square metres or so.
In a nod to the times, Grand Optics had already made the switch in terms of its brand image. “We were known as a mid- to upper-middle retailer — but we decided to go even higher. It wasn’t that difficult — we only had to look to the store format and fittings to make the changes.
“The first point of contact between the shopper’s eye and the store is the shopfront. We changed it around to give things a more luxury feel. Within the stores, we removed all the metal elements and that gave off a more high-tech ambience. Used back-lit Plexiglas as an element in the fitouts, and also reduced the number of SKUs (stock keeping units) on display.
“The whole thing meant a change to the look and feel. Our locations are in areas where customer perception tends to be premium focused. These days, successful retailing is all about differentiation.”
For UAE’s eyewear retailers, it’s time for a new look
* Eyewear retailer Magrabi is trying on a new frame. It has put its two flagship stores — at The Dubai Mall and Mall of the Emirates — through a makeover as part of an ambitious relaunch programme. The ‘M’ concept stores feature oak and glass fixtures with a palette of soft pastel shades and warm timber. They even feature a customised scent that changes seasonally, a curated music channel and bespoke lighting for that full sensory experience. On entering the store, visitors can first receive a one-on-one consultation from staff at the “consult tables” and visit the M Lens area to learn about the choices for contact lenses. They can choose to personalise their cases and lens wipes with their initials at the monogramming station.
* The Marcolin Group — which last year sold nearly 14 million eyeglasses — recently entered into a joint venture with Rivoli Group, the luxury retailer. The entity, Marcolin Middle East, is 51 per cent owned by the former and will distribute eyewear collections for brands such as Tom Ford, Balenciaga, Ermenegildo Zegna and Montblanc, among others.
By Manoj Nair Associate Editor
Gulf News 2017. All rights reserved.
