The shopping and retail industries of the UAE are set to be 20 years ahead of the region, with Dubai’s launch of the Mall of the World in the run up to Expo 2020, says the CEO of a leading general trading company based in the UAE.

Midhat M Abu Ghazaleh, CEO, Abughazaleh Trading Company (Abco), a major wholesale distributor and manufacturer, said: “Dubai is 10 years ahead of other regional markets as far as shopping and retail are concerned. In 1996, the emirate set itself apart from the region with the launch of the Dubai Shopping Festival, which created a dramatic upswing in the UAE retail sector. Now, with the announcement of Mall of the World, the scale and magnitude have been expanded, which will surely take Dubai 20 years ahead of the regional market.”

“This new mega-project that will include 100 hotels, wellness, cultural and theatre districts is the world’s first temperature-controlled city capable of receiving 180 million visitors a year. This speaks volumes for the vision of Dubai and no risk management expert will advise international retail brands against setting up presence in the emirate as Dubai government is investing heavily to take the shopping and retail sector to a totally new level.”

The emirate’s investment drive into the shopping industry has been relentless since Al Ghurair Centre was launched in Deira many years ago, to be followed by bigger and better world-class malls over the years.

“With the current portfolio of malls and brands setting up presence here, Dubai was always ahead of the market. Now it has even moved up further and set a higher benchmark for others in the region,” said Abu Ghazaleh.

Commenting on the cultural theatres and indoor park to be included in the new Mall of the World, Abu Ghazaleh said this is a salute to the diversity of cultures in Dubai and increasing number of tourists making Dubai a top priority destination. It is a recipe for the success of Dubai by addressing all people’s needs and creating culturally appealing attractions.

He said: “Family tourism is on top of the agenda of the Dubai government and this means more business to retail and shopping industries. It also means stronger presence of retails brands in the emirate and significant preference to Dubai as a springboard to other markets in the region.”

Abughazaleh Trading Company (Abco) is a wholesale distributor and manufacturer of all types of apparel, footwear, luggage, hand bags and house hold products.

The company operates in GCC countries, Middle East and North Africa (Mena), South Africa, South East Asia, East Europe and Russia. - TradeArabia News Service