The World Trade Center mall in Abu Dhabi has announced its newest tenant – Lulu Hypermarket.
The big-box supermarket will be on the first floor of the north end of the mall, where previously its souq concept was housed.
The souq will now only be carried on the ground floor.
The new 100,000 square feet Lulu store is part of the mall’s ongoing initiative to diversify its retail portfolio. It will compete with the Spinneys supermarket, which also sits in the mall, but in another wing.
“We saw this as a fabulous opportunity to get into one of the best malls near the Corniche,” said Vijay Nandakumar, the head of corporate communications for Lulu Hypermarket.
“It does not concern us about Spinneys being in the mall as we have our full product range on offer and can meet every requirement. To have two major retailers in the mall can only be good for the customer and the mall itself. We have no stores over this side of town, so it made good business sense to take the opportunity.”
Spinneys said it offers its customers “a very different shopping experience”.
At the beginning of this month the House of Fraser department store in the mall, which covered an area of more than 9,200 sq metres over four floors, closed. It was replaced with a discount shop, DTA Outlet, but only on the first two floors. The remaining floors occupied by the store have now been boarded up.
The mall has been undergoing a remodelling of its retail mix with a 16-outlet fast-food court opening in March and an area called “The Hub” with five licensed restaurants opened incrementally.
James Waugh, the mall’s general manager, admitted that mistakes had been made with the retail mix. But the changes that have been implemented had increased footfall by 10,000 visitors per day, he added.
The north end of the mall also has plans for a children’s edutainment area called Kidzmondo, which will take over the whole of the second floor of the mall’s wing.
“The Mall at WTCAD has undertaken extensive market research to better understand the needs and preferences of our customers and so have taken a strategic approach to diversify our retail offering,” said Talal Al Dhiyebi, the chief development officer of the mall’s owner, Aldar Properties.
“It has been our policy to go nearer to the potential shoppers rather than making them drive long-distance to reach us.”
ascott@thenational.ae
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