Dubai Festival City delegation for international retail industry show

The delegation will be led by Phil McArthur, Dubai Festival City's Director of Leasing and Marketing and will include Husam Ahmed a retail leasing specialist and the General Manager, Marketing, Judy Neil, who serves as the Middle East representative on MAPIC's industry consultative committee.

"Our aim at MAPIC this year is to reinforce our project in the minds of the many international retailers and media who were introduced to the project at last year's show," explained McArthur.

"We will be in discussions with major retailers as well as food and beverage operators from Europe and the Near East who gave Dubai Festival City such an enthusiastic welcome at MAPIC 2002.

"Each of these prospective partners meets our criteria of bringing new and exciting offerings to the market. Together we intend to create a centreplace destination for Dubai and the Middle East."

Dubai Festival City is being developed on 1,600 acres of prime waterfront land. It comprises 15 distinct development zones. The retail development components are focused in three main areas. The first phase will concentrate on 270,000 square feet of automotive retail in state-of-the-art showrooms. The second phase, 600,000 square feet, is a value retail centre, which will be anchored by IKEA and a hypermarket. However, the jewel in the crown of Dubai Festival City is The Crescent, over 1,000,000 square feet of retail, entertainment and dining experiences.

"This central retail component will have a collection of lifestyle shopping with an array of brands and a collection of local products, jewellery, leisurewear, home accessories, life-style décor and children's goods. There will also be unique restaurants, cafes and entertainment venues," explained McArthur.

"In the Crescent there will be the two-level enclosed retail experience, which will be the heart of Dubai Festival City's retail experience with a centerpiece component - Festival Square. Here, international brands will sit side-by-side with premier local brands. An iconic feature of The Crescent will be a 30m wide marina waterfront promenade. The Crescent will be the main component providing Dubai Festival City with its 'sense of place."

Construction has already begun and the destination is designed to raise the bar on the regional retail experience.