Centrepoint, Middle East’s largest fashion retailer, has heralded the future of its retail stores with the opening of its re-designed concept format at Doha Festival City, Qatar.

The new store is one of the cornerstones of the shopping mall with a retail space of 58,092 sq ft split on two levels making it the fourth-largest retail offering in Doha Festival City.

The flagship store houses a café, kids’ entertainment area, and customer-centric shopping environment, where the future-focused retailer has striven to enhance the digital experience at its store for the visually-driven millennials and younger families that it is increasingly catering to.

Interactive tablets are placed throughout the store to prompt customers on star products and on-going deals in-store. There will also be free wifi in the store for customers.

Service is a key element of the new store, with attention paid to the inclusion of greeters at the store front and an increase in Arabic speaking assistants, and digital navigation consoles to guide customers to various sections of the store.

Interactive iPads are available to allow Shukran card members to easily assess the status of their points and fitting rooms are equipped with bells to provide immediate assistance to customers in identifying the right size and fit of garments. Centrepoint has identified ease of check out as being a major factor in the in-store experience and the pilot store provides mobile POS in key areas in-store for customers to shop instantly without waiting in the queue.

“Centrepoint new store design is part of our vision to bring shoppers in the region the best-in-class retail experience. Our store in Doha Festival City is a step towards a format for future success and is part of a dynamic process towards increasing customer satisfaction and driving sales,” said Simon Cooper, head of Centrepoint.

He added: “Customers have responded enthusiastically to the new store format, and we anticipate successful sales results and a more satisfying customer experience from this pilot store.”

The new store format has been developed by Fitch, one of the world's leading retail and brand consultancy firms. “We were excited by Centrepoint’s brief and are thrilled to see the new format come to life. The Centrepoint team had a clear mandate to transform the consumer experience within their stores and accelerate business success. Their forward-thinking attitude and evolution as a digitally focused brand was strategically aligned to our vision for our clients and we are proud to have been chosen to work on Centrepoint’s new store,” says David Blair, CEO, EMEIA at Fitch.

Doha Festival City is strategically located in the Umm Salal Mohammed area of Doha, which is home to a majority of Qataris but the development plans for the area also predict a rise in the expat population within the area.

The new Centrepoint store is on the Ground and First level of Doha Festival City, near the South West parking. A full-range of the brand’s Spring Summer 2017 collection is being showcased in-store.
The move marks the opening of Centrepoint’s 6th store in Qatar and the brand is scheduled to open one more store in the country in 2017. – TradeArabia News Service