Half the world’s top 250 retailers opened debut stores in new markets

Bassam Saleh, Marketing Manager of Bawadi Mall, the largest in Al Ain city, said the UAE plays a vital role in international expansion of retail business. Quoting Deloitte’s Global Powers of Retailing Report, Saleh revealed that many of the world’s top 250 retailers opened debut stores in new markets, over half of them either in Central Europe or the Middle East – particularly Kuwait and the UAE.

A recent survey by Statistics Centre Abu Dhabi reveals that Al Ain, which has a population of around 586,000, will see it rising to 1 million by 2030. This highlights the need of more diverse retail services in the city, in order to meet the expected demand of a multi-cultural community.

“We at Bawadi Mall aim to make a strong contribution to raising the quality of life of Al Ain residents and visitors, being the largest shopping destination and one of the most popular for entertainment. The number of homes in Al Ain is projected to grow from 86,800 to over 202,000 by 2030. The city therefore holds huge potential for retailers, franchisers and investors,” said Saleh.

According to Plan Al Ain 2030, increasing population and booming tourism will lead to growing demand for retail space. Al Ain’s ratio of retail square meters per resident is comparatively quite high and will remain so.

“Retail is a big employment generator in the city. More than 400 retail outlets serve the Al Ain community within Bawadi Mall itself, providing jobs for thousands of employees. With the rapidly increasing growth of the city, we expect more leasable area to be operational in the near future,” added Saleh. 

Bawadi Mall is one of the key drivers of the retail and shopping industries in Al Ain City. The mall saw a footfall of over 10,321,541 million visitors in 2014 alone, a number projected to increase dramatically in 2015.