An Ikea store will anchor a new Al Futtaim mall due to open in 2019 in Dubai’s Jebel Ali Village.
The project sits within eyesight of Ibn Battuta Mall and is targeted at tapping into anticipated growth brought about by Expo 2020 as the south of Dubai undergoes increasing investment and infrastructure.
The development will also include a stand-alone Ace hardware store alongside 257 mid-market town houses developed by wasl Asset Management Group.
The company said that once the entire mixed-use residential and commercial district is completed it will be home to an anticipated 25,000-strong community.
“We are looking five, six years hence when the southern end of Dubai will look completely different to today,” said Steven Cleaver, the director of shopping centres at Al Futtaim.
He said the mall will be part of the Ikea store rather than separated by a blue and yellow wall, referring to the DIY furniture maker’s trademark colours.
“While the mall will be slightly bigger than a community mall, the Ikea store will be 30,000 square metres – bigger than the existing Ikea in Festival City but smaller than the Abu Dhabi outlet.” Mr Cleaver said the retail concepts will be geared towards electronic commerce, and Ace Hardware will also be present as a “new concept store bigger than any existing outlet”.
The UAE’s retail climate has been buffeted by the perfect storm of domestic and international demand slowing down.
Domestic demand has been hampered by insecure consumer sentiment on the back of low oil prices and international demand has slowed as the dirham, which is pegged to the US dollar, gains in strength, making the UAE an expensive destination.
But sales at Ikea and Ace have not slowed. Both brands claimed single-digit growth in 2016 on the back of similar footfall to 2015. Ace said it has extended its product line to appeal to families and women, while Ikea is introducing changes based on customer feedback.
“Ikea always does well in a downturn,” said John Kersten, the managing director for Al Futtaim Ikea, adding that the outlet will feature the newest Ikea concept in the world. “No longer will the labyrinthine trails through Ikea be needed. We will have multiple exits on all the floors and our customers will be able to access the food courts without having to enter the store.”
He said this store may cannibalise the demand of the Festival City outlet “but we needed to grow and we are looking 25 years forward when Dubai has changed yet again”.
ascott@thenational.ae
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