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Shopping Centers Today -> May 2004
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IN BID TO STAND OUT, DUBAI MALL PLANS SKI SLOPE
BY DEBRA HAZEL
Dubai’s proliferation of upscale shopping centers makes it a tough nut for newcomers to come up with something new for consumers. But the developers of the Mall of the Emirates seem to have hit on something: The giant mall, set to open in September 2005, will include an indoor ski resort.
That’s something of a novelty in this desert environment, where summer temperatures often reach 120 degrees Fahrenheit.
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Tenants will include the largest Debenhams department store in the Middle East, a 14-screen multiplex theater, a 400-room Kempinski hotel and the tallest office tower in the world.
And that ski resort is to be, of course, the first in the Arab Middle East. The resort will feature one of the world’s longest man-made ski slopes (1,320 feet) and a play area where children and their parents can experience real snow, many of them for the first time. The area, designed like an Alpine village, will hold 6,000 tons of locally manufactured snow, allowing children to build snowmen, go tobogganing and have snowball fights.
The ski slope will not want for customers, says Graham Dreverman, vice president of leasing and marketing at Majid Al Futtaim, the company that is developing the project.
“A lot of locals do ski, and Dubai is currently the Asian ice hockey champion,” he said. Majid Al Futtaim is a pioneer in shopping center development in the Middle East; the Dubai-based firm’s portfolio also includes Deira City Centre, a Dubai regional mall.
The $3 billion dirham ($817 million) center has been in development about six years. Originally dubbed Souk Al Nakheel, plans called for it to measure well under 1 million square feet. But the city has grown rapidly, and so did the plans.
“Growth in Dubai has exceeded everyone’s expectations,” Dreverman said. The population, which was 50,000 in 1955, is more than 1 million today, and that is expected to approach 1.7 million by 2010. The growth has conveniently been concentrated in the south.
“With this new population, we have demand for several regional malls,” he said.
In addition, tourism has increased as the Dubai government continues to promote the Emirate as a beach destination for Europeans and people from other parts of the Middle East. Dubai’s city center attracts more than 30 million visitors yearly.
The center’s 400 shops will include a luxury-brand area, with haute couture located in a discreet section, in accordance with local sensitivities. Broadway Trading, a locally based retail licensing company, has leased more than 152,000 square feet at the mall; the stores include Mango, Massimo Duti, Virgin Megastore and Zara. The Landmark Group, a Dubai-based retail holding company, will open five stores: Baby Shop, housewares vendor Home Centre, trendy apparel seller Lifestyle, Shoe Mart and Splash, which sells home decor, fashion jewelry and accessories.
The mall will have two food courts, with a total of 25 tenants.
The exterior combines contemporary design with traditional Arab architecture; the interior has a series of arcades, with a domed skylight some 12 stories high illuminating the Galleria, the main court.
Construction began in October.
 | Current Issue March 2010 |