Nakheel has added 60 outlets to its Ibn Battuta Mall after a Dh100 million expansion.
Its chairman Ali Rashid Lootah brushed off suggestions that the retail sector was in trouble as he cut the ribbon on the extension of 300,000 square feet of gross leasable area.
“Slowdown? What slowdown?” he asked.
The extension adds outlets including Marks & Spencer, Sephora, Superdry and Adidas. It is the first of four new phases that will expand the mall to more than 7 million square feet over the next couple of years.
The strong US dollar, to which the UAE dirham is pegged, has hurt the retail sector, which is also suffering from a decline in high-spending visitors from countries such as Russia and China.
But with all of the mall’s extension leased, the Nakheel chairman sees no reason to be pessimistic in what could be the busiest year yet for the developer’s retail delivery.
Nakheel’s delivery schedule before 2020 will include Nakheel Mall, The Pointe, Deira Mall, Deira Islands Night Souk, Warsan Souk, Al Khail Avenue and The Circle Mall.
“We have not reduced rents and we have seen no slowdown as retailers are still coming forward looking for good outlets,” said Mr Lootah. “Footfall is increasing in Ibn Battuta and in a host of our malls. DragonMart 2 saw 600,000 visitors last month alone.”
Mr Lootah said he forecasts retailing revenue of Dh7 billion by 2020. That compares to retail revenue of about Dh1.6bn last year.
“Nakheel is set to become the biggest landlord of retail space in Dubai,” said Matthew Green, the head of research for the property consultant CBRE. “Its business is now basically retail rather than developing property, looking to generate long-term revenue streams. It is very hard to say statistically that there is a slowdown because of the intransparency of the market. Emaar Malls has to show its numbers, because it’s public, and the rents for its new Fashion Avenue in Dubai Mall are eye-watering, so there is definitely growth in some areas of retail.”
ascott@thenational.ae
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