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Dubai Mall Creates 10,000 New Jobs, Eyes 37m Visitors This Year

DUBAI - The Dubai Mall, the UAE’s largest indoor shopping centre as measured by internal floor space, has generated 10,000 jobs since December, the head of the property developer that built the emporium said on Sunday.

Emaar Malls Group and its retailer partners have invested Dh20 billion in Dubai Mall, which boasts the country’s largest collection of international retail brand names under one roof. More than 900 of the mall’s 1,200 shops are already doing business, with the remaining 300 expected to open in the next three months.

Mohammed Al Abaar, Chairman of Emaar Properties, called Dubai Mall “the catalyst” for the emirate’s economy. The mall has attracted 160,000 visitors, equal to 10 per cent of the city’s population, since it opened on November 4. The mall’s official launch was on May 8.

The mall has introduced 165 new retail brands and concepts to the Middle East and includes flagship stores for some international brands.

According to an April research report by property firm CB Richard Ellis, Dubai is the fourth most-attractive city for international retailers after London, Paris and New York City. The study mapped the global networks of 280 of the world’s major retailers across 67 countries and found that 46 per cent of them are present in Dubai compared to London, which has 60 per cent, Paris, with 49 per cent, and New York, with 
47 per cent.

Dubai Mall has two food courts with a total seating capacity of 3,000 and more than 14,000 car parking spaces.

About 750,000 people have visited the mall each week during its current promotional campaign, “Festival@The Dubai Mall.” The mall is on course to achieve total visitor traffic this year of 37 million, Al Abaar said in a statement.

The mall is now running a month-long promotional contest — “Bid 2 Win” — ending on May 29 that includes a live auction of a range of products, a Grand Bentley draw, and raffles to win Dh50,000 daily and Dh100,000 on Saturdays, leading to a grand haul of Dh1 million.

aneela@khaleejtimes.com