Dubai Festival City Director to address key UK retail industry meet

McArthur will address the Shopping Centre Management Conference of the British Council of Shopping Centres (BCSC), which will be held in the Scottish capital, Edinburgh, at the end of February. He will outline to delegates the shopping centre experience in the UAE.

"This is a welcome opportunity to spell out to the BCSC's many members the numerous viable business openings that await them in the Middle East," said McArthur.

The BCSC has a membership of over 1,600, including some of the UK's biggest retail brand names, such as John Lewis, WH Smith, Marks & Spencer, Travis Perkins and Next.

"We anticipate an enthusiastic response to Mr McArthur's presentation as many of our members have yet little experience of retailing in the Middle East," said Cath Lyders of the BCSC. "Our council is continually on the look out for opportunities to expand the horizons of our members and this appears to be one of them."

McArthur, who was recently elected as the first Middle East-based trustee of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC), will also outline the growth in the regional retail sector and the expectations of new-to-market brands.

"Dubai Festival City is a sterling example of how product differentiation must drive the retail mix," said McArthur. "When recently selecting the operator for our retail park hypermarket, we deliberately went for HyperPanda - a name that is entering the Dubai and UAE market for the first time."

Dubai Festival City and its unique 2.6 million square feet 'urban retail resort', Festival Centre, will also be showcased to the UK contingent with a focus on how the project combines retail, hospitality, entertainment, residential and community facilities into one all-encompassing environment.