Sunday 2 November 2014

Desert retail mecca gets big names

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – The Middle East is getting the world’s first Macy’s department store outside the United States – and its second Bloomingdale’s, too.
Desert Retail Mecca
This artist rendering shows Al Maryah Central, a proposed $1billion shopping center in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, that will house a Macy's and Bloomingdale's.

Property developer Gulf Related and Dubai-based retail conglomerate Al Tayer Group plan to open both stores in a shopping center being built in the United Arab Emirates capital, Abu Dhabi. Improve your writing quality with our cheap dissertation writing services uk.

The mall, known as Al Maryah Central, is expected to cost about $1 billion to build and should open in spring 2018. It will be located next to an existing shopping mall known as The Galleria on al-Maryah island, a rapidly developing area just across the water from Abu Dhabi’s central business district.

Abu Dhabi is the largest and richest of the seven sheikdoms that make up the Emirates. It controls the bulk of the OPEC country’s oil wealth and is home to one of the world’s largest sovereign wealth funds.

The nearby city of Dubai already boasts the first overseas branch of Bloomingdale’s. That outpost opened in 2010 in the vast Dubai Mall, which sits at the base of the world’s tallest tower, the Burj Khalifa.

Both cities are home to a minority of wealthy locals and large numbers of professional expatriates and migrant workers.

Abu Dhabi has been working to expand its tourism industry, helped by the growth of national carrier Etihad Airways and the larger, Dubai-based airline Emirates.

Kevin Ryan, managing director of development for Gulf Related, said those airline connections, an affluent local population and the rapid growth of the shopping scene in the country are a draw for retailers.

“The more and more retail you have, the more attractive it becomes. … It’s become a major destination,” he said of the Emirates. “It’s a strong local market that’s supplemented by tourism.”

Malls in the Emirates boast a dizzying array of Western brands, including many that Al Tayer operates locally, including Armani, Banana Republic, Gucci and Gap.

They also host some eye-popping attractions. One Dubai mall features an indoor ski slope, complete with penguins, while another wows shoppers with a massive aquarium, ice-skating rink and a dinosaur skeleton.

Cincinnati-based Macy’s Inc. operates both Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s.

Ryan said he expects the different offerings of the two stores – Bloomingdale’s appeals to higher-end shoppers – will complement each other as they anchor two ends of the 2.9-million-square-foot waterfront mall.

Each will be spread over four stories and take up more than 200,000 feet.

Gulf Related is a joint venture of Abu Dhabi-based asset management firm Gulf Capital, which is backed by regional investors, and New York-based real estate firm Related Cos.

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Post Credit: Journalgazette

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