Page 55 - March 2021

he Charter of the GCC was formally the traditional retail sector has experienced a considerable
established and signed on 25 May 1981, and hit to footfall levels and, consequently, profitability even
consists of all Arab states of the Persian Gulf, before Covid-19. Increased competition from e-tailers
T Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia paired with challenging and competitive market conditions
and the UAE – except Iran and Iraq. has called for larger, national-level action to support the
With the increased scrutiny and focus on the Middle East traditional retail sector. During this time, governments in
in recent years due to the phenomenal growth across the the GCC have sought ways to diversify their economies
region, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) now sits in the and increase Foreign Direct Investments (FDI). Driven by
higher echelons of the retail, leisure, real estate, business and national initiatives, governments have begun to successfully
industry sectors. implement business reforms and change ownership
Despite its lofty position in the world market, even the structures to attract and accommodate global players. A key
GCC has not been immune to the destructive nature of the focus of this has been to further enable businesses entering
Covid-19 global pandemic. the GCC to wholly-own their businesses.
‘Trends in the GCC Retail Market: The State of Retail Today Research from Cityscape’s ‘UAE & MENA Real Estate
and Predictions for a post-Covid-19 World’ by CBRE and Market Report 2020: H2 Analysis, September 2020’ claims
Roland Berger highlights that with the rise of online shopping, that global lockdowns have reshaped consumer behaviour
and it has become clear that the retail and real estate
sectors have taken a huge hit over the past year. Despite
this and the challenging situation created by the global
pandemic, 46.46 per cent of real estate professionals still
forecast growth for the GCC countries.