Page 42 - December 2021 / January 2022

ear of N
The Year of New
The Y ew Developer: United Developers
Place Vendôme, Doha, Qatar

Opportunities
O ppor tunities

The start of lockdown resulted in the physical retail world and many
other industries being brought to its collective knees. Retail, travel
and hosting large scale events morphed into new forms, online retail
boomed, travel unless by car locally became nearly an impossible feat
and hosting large scale events migrated online in the form of webinars and other forms of
video conferencing. Here, David Macadam, CEO of The Middle East Council of Shopping
Centres discusses the MENA region amid a year unlike any other.

Retail is alive and prospering well in Qatar and very high GDP per person in Qatar provides high spending power for the retail industry.
With the forced ‘stay at home’ measures from the government for Covid and political reasons, the shopping centre owners and retailers
benefitted. When permitted, family gatherings in the amazing retail environments in Doha resulted in positive retail sales with pent up
enthusiasm across all levels of retail.
The Gen Z and Millennials in Qatar have risen to the challenges which Covid placed upon their collective shoulders. A rare opportunity
emerged this year for creating new successful concepts in Doha, providing entertainment, new and fresh approaches to F&B and the
emergence of young retailers creating new cosmetic brands, athleisure wear and digital/physical concepts materialised. With the closure of
many of the aging British-based high street brands, the rise of pop-up retail gained traction in the best shopping centres in Qatar with minimal
risk to both the retailers and the shopping centre owners.
Relief was offered in the form of reduced lease rates for many of the existing retailers, although not universal in implementation, percentage
of sales turn-over lease rates became more common. The retailers received agreements with percentage turn over rent, plus payment for
electrical consumption and service charges.
Investment in retail continues unabated in Qatar as the red carpet is rolled out to the world for FIFA, the FIFA World Cup is ready to
launch in November 2022 with new large scale retail environments including Place Vendome Mall set to open. The newly completed Msheireb
Downtown will be the epicentre of the World Cup festivities.
Retail in Kuwait has also prospered due to the travel restrictions and government imposed lockdown requirements and again high personal
GDP numbers per person contributed to solid performance of the retail industry in Kuwait in 2021.
New retail environments in Kuwait such as 360 Mall’s expansion with the world-class Rafa Nadal Academy for Tennis and the 300 key
Grand Hyatt Hotel have created a new dominant position for this landmark shopping centre. 360 Mall is now the countries first truly mixed-
use retail, hospitality, office, leisure and sports destination and Tamdeen’s renovated and expanded Al Kout Mall with waterfront location is
now the largest shopping destination in South Kuwait.

Al Kout Mall, Kuwait
Developer: Tamdeen Group

2 RETAIL AND LEISURE INTERNATIONAL DECEMBER 2021 / JANUARY 2022