The capital’s malls believe Eid and the Abu Dhabi Summer Season, organised by the Abu Dhabi Authority for Tourism and Culture (TCA), could kick start a retail recovery.
For the non-stop shoppers, Yas Mall is offering 24-hour discount shop-’til-you-drop from June 25 to June 26 during Eid Al Fitr.
More than 300 brands are included in the mega-sale with up to 90 per cent discounts; most stores, including Ferrari World and Vox Cinemas, will be open around the clock. For night owls there are promotions starting after midnight until 5am.
Some retailers believe the seasonal timing of Ramadan and the school calendar will offer a natural lift to the Eid break. “The fact that Ramadan is earlier this year means schools and families are still in the city,” said Hamdi Kulahcioglu, the general manager of Tryano, a department store in Yas Mall.
He said Tryano would only discount by up to 50 per cent because, Mr Kulahcioglu said, the store does not need the massive discounts offered by many stores to drive sales.
“It has been a very challenging year but we have seen our sales grow by 30 per cent. We have had to adjust our schedules and plans to make the most of the retail climate,” he said. “We will start discounting on June 15 and have brought in our new stock early so 22 per cent of the store is now unseen inventory. With higher footfall driven by discounts, we will see more sales of the new lines.”
Bawadi Mall in Al Ain does not have the benefit of the vast discounting of a super regional mall but it also considers Eid as a high watermark in the year. “Of course the timing of Ramadan is beneficial,” said Bassem Saleh, the mall’s marketing manager.
He said the mall is already attracting an uptick in foot traffic with the second half of Ramadan coinciding with school exams ending and families making trips out.
“The TCA is trying to organise a big sale starting on July14 … which kicks off its summer season,” he said, adding that the planning of the sale may have been a little late.
“Many of our retailers will have started discounting at the start of July. It is not easy to start offering more discounts when the inventory and stock levels are not geared to it. It is a nice idea but we need six months’ planning, not six weeks.”
Abu Dhabi’s retailers will undoubtedly feel the benefits of Eid says another major mall.
“This year has been challenging make no mistake,” said James Waugh, the general manager of Abu Dhabi’s World Trade Centre (WTC) Mall.
He said that WTC was not looking to this quarter for retail growth as the mall was undergoing a change in the retail mix with a big value chain coming in to take the space left by House of Fraser.
“We think that Eid will be a big opportunity for many malls because the schools have only just broken up and many families will still be in town,” he said. “Many of the previous Ramadan months have fallen at the height of summer and therefore there is a double whammy for footfall traffic and retail sales.”
ascott@thenational.ae
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