Tourism & Hospitality | Monday 26 January, 2015 4:14 pm |

Al Futtaim Group is one of the long-standing partners of the Dubai Festivals and Retail Establishment (DFRE), an agency of the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM), and the organisers of the Dubai Shopping Festival. As a Strategic Partner of the DFRE, Al Futtaim Group has collaborated with DFRE on a number of creative events and activities to ensure the continued success of DSF year after year.

Over the course of time, its popular shopping destination, the Dubai Festival City Mall has strengthened this association by organising a wide variety of special events and stage shows during DSF, in addition to tailored shopping promotions and discounts that fall in line with DFRE’s commitment to reinforce Dubai’s position as a leading family tourism destination in the world.

In an interview with the Media Centre of DFRE, Brad Merchant, General Manager, Dubai Festival City Mall, pointed out that during every edition of DSF, the mall recorded significant growth in visitor footfalls resulting in greater sales at the mall’s various retail, F&B and entertainment outlets.

One of the key factors attracting shoppers to Dubai Festival City Mall is the extremely enticing range of promotions rolled out during DSF, which make the festival an opportune occasion for visitors to wait until this period to make their purchases, he added. Mr. Merchant stated that Dubai Festival City Mall will continue to support DSF in the future while benefiting from its extremely positive impact on the emirate in terms of attracting tourists from all over the region and beyond.

Speaking about which product categories fare the best in terms of retail spending at Dubai Festival City Mall, Mr. Merchant said that many popular areas of spending are spread across the mall, with a special focus on the fashion industry and to cater to the diverse needs of fashion-loving shoppers, the mall hosts a wide variety of fashion retailers.

Excerpts of the interview

What are the major changes and impacts that the Dubai Shopping Festival has had on your organisation over the past 20 years?

DSF has been a driving force that substantially enhanced Dubai Festival City Mall’s retail offering. The mall attracted significant footfall throughout every edition of the festival as a result of the creative and highly engaging entertainment programmes that were introduced in partnership with DFRE. Dubai Festival City Mall retailers also benefited greatly from DSF as they experienced a considerable year on year increase in sales due to the extremely attractive promotions that were introduced during this festive period.



In relation to your annual business plans and strategy – how important is the DSF period to the success of your business?

DSF is an extremely important period for the mall with its significantly positive effect on the performance of retailers. The mall has been a strategic partner of the Dubai Shopping Festival since its inauguration and will continue supporting the event for many years to come, while benefiting from its extremely positive impact on the emirate in terms of attracting tourists from all over the region and beyond. The extensive amounts of mall-goers who visit Dubai Festival City Mall during the Dubai Shopping Festival generate exponential business growth for all of the shopping centre’s retail, F&B and entertainment outlets.

What special initiatives, promotions and customer engagement strategies have you implemented for the 20th anniversary edition of DSF?

During this year’s 20th anniversary of DSF, Dubai Festival City Mall’s grand prizes were chosen based on the symbols of 20th anniversaries - yellow diamond rings and platinum watches; hence the mall is offering three sets, each consisting of a yellow diamond ring and a valuable watch.

Moreover, Dubai Festival City Mall introduced a ‘Spin the Wheel’ activity with the grand prize centered around the number 20. The activity will entitle customers to win instant prizes from all participating retailers!

Additionally, Dubai Festival City Mall introduced a fantastic programme of activities in partnership with DFRE. The events showdown included performances by Britain’s Got Talent’s Pre Skool street dance group who tribute global superstars such as Madonna, Justin Bieber, Beyoncé, Micheal Jackson and Lady Gaga. New York City’s ‘Acapella Soul’ group also gave residents and tourists a taste of the Big Apple with its electrifying sound. These, amongst many other events, provide visitors of the mall with endless entertainment opportunities throughout the duration of the landmark festival.

How important has DSF been to the overall economic development of Dubai and promoting the emirate around the world over the past two decades?

The Dubai Shopping Festival has placed Dubai on the international map as one of the region’s most visited destinations due to its many unique attractions. The festival lures millions of visitors to the emirate every year which adds great value towards the growth of Dubai’s economy.

If you could sum up in just one phrase what DSF means to you as an organisation – what would that phrase be?

The Dubai Shopping Festival attracts thousands of visitors to Dubai Festival City Mall every year which adds great value towards the business growth of all retailers and F&B outlets.

How much of an impact do the different promotions held during DSF have on the purchasing decisions of your shoppers?

The extremely attractive promotions that are introduced during the Dubai Shopping Festival provide shoppers with an incentive to spend which is highly beneficial to Dubai Festival City Mall retailers across all categories. Many consumers, including residents and tourists, consider DSF as the opportune time to make their purchases thus benefiting from the amazing deals that are introduced during the period at the mall.

What are the most popular general areas for retail spending during DSF – what are people most planning to buy?

Many popular areas of spending are spread across the mall, with a special focus on the fashion industry in which Dubai Festival City Mall hosts a wide variety of fashion retailers catering to all fashion lovers’ tastes.

Do you see a major increase in international and regional visitors during the DSF period – and where are most of these visitors coming from?

There is certainly an increase in international and regional visitors during DSF in comparison to other periods throughout the year. During the Dubai Shopping Festival, most visitors to Dubai Festival City Mall include nationals from neighboring GCC countries and Europe, with a minority of tourists flying to the emirate from other international markets.