Retailcorp sees shopper numbers increase in 2009

Retailcorp, the company formerly known as Nakheel Retail, has seen the number of visitors to its Dubai malls rise over the last year despite a slowing economy and the opening of two major retail developments in the city.

“It has been quite incredible for us to see how resilient our malls and our retail has been,” chief executive Graham Dreverman said.

“Ibn Battuta and DragonMart are actually up on last year in terms of the number of people visiting. And that’s against a backdrop of The Dubai Mall opening, which is doing well. So it has been a great success.”

Revenue from the company’s cinema operations had risen on the year, while its sports brands, which includes the GO Sports chain and local franchises for brands including Nike, had posted sales that were in line with what they were a year ago.

Dreverman said one of the reasons for the strong results was population growth in the developments surrounding its stores, such as Nakheel’s Discovery Gardens.

“We’re in growth corridors, and when your assets are in based in growth corridors you continue to grow very rapidly,” he said.

Retailcorp World is the retail division of Dubai World. The company operates through five main platforms: Retailcorp Malls, Retailcorp Brands, Retailcorp Brands South Africa, Retailcorp Distribution and Hypercorp.

Leaving Nakheel means that the company has a mandate to fund its own projects. “We’ll be looking for equity partners to build projects with us in joint ventures,” Dreverman said.

Dubai World in June hired AlixPartners, turnaround experts advising on General Motors' bankruptcy, to help restructure the group.

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