Dubai malls look for a second act

Smaller shopping centres are taking on the larger competition by staging plays, fashion shows, charity events and more to win back their lost customers.

The Debenhams-sponsored kids fashion show at Deira City Center. Antoine Robertson / The National

Fashion shows, painting workshops and small-scale drama productions are often the types of activities you would expect at local community centres in other parts of the world.

But in Dubai, it is the emirate's mega malls that double as a places to bring schoolchildren and families to see low-budget shows and take part in arts and crafts.

With competition high among Dubai's 20 major shopping centres, there has been a noticeable push, particularly by smaller malls, to offer more than just a consumer experience.

Craig Plumb, the head of research at Jones Lang LaSalle for the Middle East and North Africa, a property and malls specialist, confirms that events have helped to increase the number of people packing into shopping centres.

"It's hard to prove it because [the mall operators] never release the statistics," he says. "But I would say the experience overseas is that having events in malls is a proven way of increasing the footfall."

To show how important malls are to the economy, retail sales, excluding food, are forecast to grow from US$12.9 billion (Dh47.38bn) to $13.2bn this year, according Euromonitor International, a global market research company.

During emirate-wide festivals, such as Dubai Shopping Festival and Dubai Summer Surprises (DSS), shopping centres have ramped up their events and entertainment offerings.

"As a result of all the live entertainment and in-mall promotions, we enjoyed a 10 per cent increase in retail sales and a 10 per cent increase in the total malls' footfall during DSS 2012, compared to the same period last year during DSS 2011," says Mirla El Masri Heisser, the corporate communications manager for Mercato Mall and Town Centre Jumierah.

There has been a mix of activities, from reading areas for children to acrobatics shows to mini-drama productions with characters such as those from the Ice Agemovies.

Ramadan and Eid Al Fitr are expected to be no different.

Al Ghurair Centre has partnered with UAE Red Crescent to launch a "Treasure Box", in which visitors can donate their old toys, clothes, bags, books and games to less privileged children.

"This Eid holidays we will be bringing three days of international shows with three different shows daily and also a car to be won during the holidays," says Ziad Ahmed, a marketing coordinator at Al Ghurair Centre.

Events are becoming a crucial part of attracting shoppers as rents commanded at the older and smaller malls languish, while newer and larger centres, such as Mall of the Emirates and Dubai Mall, experience high demand for space and growing numbers of visitors.

"The retail market is becoming more two-tier, and older, less popular malls are seeing weakened demand from consumers as retailers compete for a presence in the best quality centres," Jones Lang LaSalle said in a report this month.

It said annual rents at community malls were Dh1,200 to Dh1,600 per square foot.

"When the big malls opened, the smaller players in the market did feel a dent, but after some time customers came back to their favourite smaller malls simply because the offering is good and this is mainly because people like to stay within their areas," says Ms El Masri Heisser.

twitter: Follow and share our breaking business news. Follow us

iPad users can read the digital edition of business section as it was printed via our e-reader app. Click here