AL GHURAIR CENTRE SIGNS UP MAJOR RETAIL GROUPS

Dubai’s first shopping mall has signed deals with Landmark Group, Al Futtaim Group and Azadea Group to open stores in its AED2 billion expansion project

Al Ghurair Centre in Dubai has signed up three of the region’s biggest retail conglomerates to its new AED2 billion expansion project.
Landmark Group, Al Futtaim Group and Azadea Group have all committed to bringing a wide mix of retail brands to the mall expansion of the existing Al Ghurair Centre. The expansion is scheduled to open end of summer 2013.
The shop line-up will include major brand names like Marks & Spencer, Mango and Iconic.
There will also be several brands making their UAE debut, including fashion lines George, Crazy 8 and Calzedonia, as well as accessories concept Iam.

“The thinking was to bring in a mixture of popular brands that are well known in this market and new brands that have a strong international track record,” said Ibrahim Al Ghurair, the Managing Director of Al Ghurair Properties.
“We see an opportunity to expand the mid to upper offering so we wanted to create a mix that targets affordable ‘edgy urban’ fashion – brands that are current and fashionable, but accessible to a wide range of shoppers.”
Azadea Group, a fashion and lifestyle retail company that manages 45 international brands in the MENA region is bringing seven brands to the expansion. These include Piazza Italia, George, Crazy 8, Iam, Calzedonia, Mango Touch and Mango.
While Azadea Group will make its debut in the Al Ghurair Centre, Landmark Group has for many years been a key retail partner of the existing mall and is now expanding its offering.
These include popular brands including Iconic, Max, Koton, Nose, Steve Madden, Carpisa, Stride Rite, Emax and Max Burger.
The company is among other major retail groups already o

perating at Al Ghurair Centre, such as Apparel Group, Al Futtaim Group, Rivoli Group, Al Shaya Retail and Jashanmal Group.
Manu Jeswani, Director - Landmark Group, said: “This location has a great heritage. The mall has a great offering for the community it serves and our retail concepts fit beautifully within that space.
“Our stores like Babyshop, Splash, Max, Shoexpress are already operating in the mall and we will be adding Iconic, Nose, Emax, Carpisa, Koton, Funky Fish, Steve Madden, Max Burger including others, in the new extension area. We are confident that this expansion will bring a new energy to the Union Square.”
The main offering from Al-Futtaim group is the UK retail giant Marks & Spencer. The outlet in the Al Ghurair Centre will offer a wide range of women and children’s clothing.
Scheduled to open in summer 2013, the Al Ghurair Centre mall expansion will boast an additional 375,000 sq ft of gross leasable retail space with 150 new stores, taking the total number to 350 stores and 855,000 sq ft of gross leasable area.
Family entertainment will come in the form of Sparky’s – the premium entertainment brand owned and operated by the Saudi-company Al Hokair Group.
The hotel management company Rotana kicked off the expansion in December with the opening of the Al Ghurair Rayhaan five-star luxury hotel and the Al Ghurair Arjaan serviced apartments.