MECSC Annual Convention expands to include Leasing Fair and Trade Expo for the first time

The event which will be held at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre from March 19-20, 2007, will focus on the development and future course of the region’s retail real estate industry with the theme ‘Middle East Shopping Centres Come of Age’.

“This year’s event is bigger and better than ever before which reflects the robust growth of the region’s retail industry, estimated to be worth $100 billion per annum. With globally noteworthy mall developments, surge in tourism and footfall, the region’s retail space is set to expand even further and the Convention will highlight the development and investment opportunities in this high growth market,“ said Mike Davidson, President of the Middle East Council of Shopping Centres.

Over the years, the MECSC Annual Convention has emerged as the most important sourcing and networking event for the Shopping Centre and Retail Industry in the Middle East. It is the only event of its kind in the Middle East, and provides a perfect platform for professionals from the shopping centre industry, retailers, investors and product and service suppliers to meet and discuss potential new business.

“We have received an overwhelming response from companies wanting to popularise new retail and mixed use developments as well as companies who would like to showcase their products and services to the thriving Shopping Centre and Retail industry. The event has attracted companies from all over GCC, Europe, the Indian subcontinent, Asia and USA. This is an excellent business opportunity to develop contacts and form new partnerships,“ said Kim Redman, Regional Director for the MECSC.

This year’s Leasing Fair at the Convention will showcase some of the world’s largest malls and other landmark projects from leading developers and management companies, including Mall of Arabia, Dubai Festival City, Majid Al Futtaim Group LLC, Tamdeen, Aldar, Al Othaim, PMDC, Dubai Investment Properties, Colliers, Burjuman, Savola Group, etc.

Myra Searle, Manager, Mall of Arabia commented, “We are keen to offer our full support to the MECSC Annual Convention as we did in 2005. The event draws major international retailers, so it is an excellent platform for us to talk about the Mall. This is an exciting time for the region’s retail industry, with many new brands entering the Middle East market for the first time and many existing brand concepts being re- designed to take their business into new dimensions to suit future market needs.

'The larger malls are catering to a wider audience and offering more choice than ever before to suit the changing lifestyle of customers. The increasing retail gross leasing area is substantial within the region but so far has seen no evidence in tenants declining from leasing space.”

Participating companies at the Trade Expo include Amusement & Services International, Actron, Batley Partners, Grottini SRL, Omnix Media Networks, Prodco International, Westech, and many more.

Francesco Grottini, Sales and Marketing Director of Grottini SRL, Italy, who will be showcasing their latest Dynamic Digital Signage systems at the Trade Expo said, “The quality standards and innovation levels in the regional industry are rapidly improving and there is a strong demand for the latest technology. We are glad to be at the forefront of these standards with our competitive advantage in digital signage that will save companies exorbitant printing cost and processing time. We look forward to presenting our technology at the event and generating new business interests.”

The 2007 MECSC Annual Convention is sponsored by Dubai Festival City, Tamdeen, Dubai Properties, Colliers International, Burjuman and Grand Optics. Media Sponsors include Retail & Leisure International, RetailME, Images Retail and Gulf Marketing Review.