Global retailers make Festival Centre their first stop in Middle East expansion

This further reiterates the strong role Festival Centre continues to play in Dubai's retail space while also reconfirming the emirate's continuing position as a new force in global retailing.


Tom Miles, Director - Shopping Centres, Al-Futtaim Group Real Estate (AFGRE), said:

"Despite the global economic slowdown, retailers have continued not just to internationalise, but to globalise and I'm happy to report that Festival Centre has become core to the recent retailer expansion activity witnessed around the world. With location, leisure, access and value advantage, Festival Centre has always had an edge in the local retail market which has resulted in a dramatic increase in visitor profile and high value footfalls."

Among the international brands that are attracting high visitor turnout is Build-a-Bear Workshop the globally recognised American retailer which opened its first store in the Middle East and MERC, the international symbol of classic British clothing that has survived five decades of trading.

Laura Ashley, Jerretelle Trading and Riverwood has also brought new fashion proportions to town, with Tamaris, Skin Food, Rossini Shoes and Agatha complementing with the accessories dimension. Yogurberry and Bert's Cafe will offer fine leisure dining while Palaces Jewellery and Zam Gems will add glitter to the Festival Centre sparkle.

For those looking at revamping their residences, fashionable home furnishing accessories brand Degrenne Paris is now available. Plug-Ins has also opened its new Mobility store specialising in mobile phone devices and PDA-s, adjacent to the larger core store.

Festival Centre has become a standard fixture for showcasing excellence during Dubai's signature events including Dubai Shopping Festival, Eid in Dubai and Dubai Summer Surprises. The distinctive shopping, dining and entertainment experiences have also helped Festival Centre notch a 56% increase in footfall year on year.

According to CB Richard Ellis' recent report How Global is the Business of Retail? Dubai rivals New York and Paris as a leading international retail hot-spot. London has emerged as the most international retail city in the world, attracting 60% of the world's top retailers.

London is followed by Paris (49%) and New York (47%) to round up the top three most popular destinations for retailers, but the surprise entry in fourth position is Dubai, enforcing its importance in the global retail landscape.

Festival Centre is the shopping and entertainment district of Dubai Festival City, the 1,300 acres waterfront mixed used development by Al-Futtaim Group Real Estate.