Dubai has retained its position as the second most important international retail destination globally, closely behind London, which also retained its position, according to a new report.

London and Dubai are significantly ahead of Paris, Moscow and New York, the other locations which make up the top five added the 2013 edition of How Global is the Business of Retail? by leading global property adviser CBRE.

CBRE’s annual survey - now in its sixth year - maps the global footprint of 320 of the world’s top retailers across more than 200 cities, tracking cross-border retailer movements. The report’s findings were revealed in the Middle East with the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry at their headquarters in Dubai, and in association with Majid Al Futtaim Properties.

This year’s report also looked at the world’s “Hot Markets in 2012” in order to enhance the overall understanding of cross-border retailer activity.

The report found that retailers expanded into a wide range of markets in 2012, with 81 per cent of cities seeing at least one new retailer enter the market.  Of the existing top five internationally representative cities, Dubai is now the highest ranked target market for new retailers.

According to the report, the Emirate ranks in fourth place amongst the world’s hottest retail markets with 25 new retailer entries during 2012, including American retailer Franklin & Marshall, Italian polo heritage brand Galvanni and Cheesecake Factory.  Hong Kong takes the lead position, attracting significantly more new retailers than any other city with a total of 51 new retailers.

Nicholas Maclean, managing director of CBRE Middle East, said: “Dubai’s success in retaining its position as the second most important city for ‘cross border’ retailers is reflective of its leading status as a regional hub for individual and family tourism. The doubling of its visitor numbers to 10 million per annum in 2012 and its commitment to double these numbers again by 2020 makes the Emirate highly attractive for existing and new retailers.”

“For American retail and food and beverage brands, the Middle East is the fastest growing location for new representation and almost invariably their first entry point will be Dubai.

“This retail success is primarily a result of Dubai’s infrastructural and particularly, aviation, investment over many years,” he added.

Hisham Abdullah Al Shirawi, second vice chairman, Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry said: “Dubai’s mature retail market is essentially driven by the growth in tourism, economic recovery and significant capital flow. Following the projected numbers by the Dubai Government of 20 million visitors by 2020, Dubai continues to offer an enticing opportunity for international retailers looking to establish a presence abroad.”

“Last year, Dubai ranked the second most targeted city globally for international retailers, eighth most favoured amongst global top 20 destination cities by international visitors and ranked 18th in international visitor spend.

“This year looks to be equally as promising with consumer confidence up 16 per cent in the first quarter. Still, better job prospects and a brighter outlook on personal finance are driving more entertainment and leisure spending and this will help to sustain the retail sector throughout 2013,” added Al Shirawi.

Mature markets dominated retailers’ expansion plans last year although five emerging markets made the top 20. Kiev was in second place with 39 new entrants, with Sao Paulo (25), Iași (19), Muscat (17) and Ho Chi Minh City (15) also important targets.

This is the second year that Kiev has been ranked in the top 3 globally. A combination of strong growth in real incomes and a serious under supply of quality retail space is driving major shopping centre development.

Notably, Muscat broke into the top 20, ranking in 16th place. This is due to the recent opening of Muscat Grand Mall and increasing interest in the Sultanate from international brands in categories such as Coffee & Restaurants and Speciality Clothing.

“We are now seeing Muscat appear on the radar of international retailers.  Principally these are brands with an established presence in the region looking for new expansion markets,” added Maclean.

Fuad Sharaf, senior director – Property Management, Majid Al Futtaim Properties, added: “The CBRE report’s findings come as no surprise. Dubai is increasingly growing as the shopping destination of choice, evident in the growing influx of shoppers visiting the emirate from across the world. We’re proud to be key contributors to this global positioning.”

Looking out of Dubai and in terms of attracting retailers in the Luxury and Business Fashion sector, Abu Dhabi takes fourth position with retailers such as such as Canali, Tom Ford and Cartier entering the Emirate during 2012. The findings also revealed that Riyadh witnessed an increase in the overall retailer representation moving up one place from last year to 14th position.

U.S. retailers are by far the most aggressive when expanding store networks globally. Traditionally, U.S. retailers have focused on Asian and Western European markets; however, increasingly they are targeting the Middle East (accounting for 18 per cent of all new entrants by U.S. retailers last year), Central & Eastern Europe (17 per cent), and Latin America (10 per cent).

Europe was the most targeted region at country level, attracting 49 per cent of new entries, followed by Asia with 24 per cent, and Mena with 11 per cent. Latin America, North America, and the Pacific region attracted 9 per cent, 7 per cent and 1 per cent respectively.

At a sector level, ‘Mid-Range’ fashion retailers entered more new markets than any other sector last year, accounting for 22 per cent of all new openings, followed by ‘Luxury and Business Fashion’ retailers (20 per cent). ‘Coffee and Restaurants’ (13 per cent) is another growth area, as international retailers expand to meet consumer demand for entertainment-based retail. – TradeArabia News Service