Fit-out contractor hired for Abu Dhabi’s $1.2bn Reem Mall

JC Maclean International has been appointed as interior fit-out contractor for Reem Mall, an upcoming $1.2 billion retail project in the UAE capital.

Reem Mall is being developed by Al Farwaniya Property Developments and is aiming to transform the shopping experience as we know it, as the world’s first fully enabled, offline-to-online, technology-powered life and business centre.

The three-storied project consists of 450 local and international brands – including global F&B outlets, a dedicated food court, one of the largest hypermarkets in the region.

It will also offer family-oriented entertainment and edutainment offerings anchored by the world’s first indoor snow park, Snow Abu Dhabi. Total built-up area of the mall is accumulated to 600,000 sq m.

JC Maclean International’s newly appointed CEO, Saeed Daraghma, said: “We are very proud to take part in this award winning renowned retail project and join hands with groups of highly qualified professionals and experts in achieving the project completion to the utmost satisfaction of its all stakeholders.”

Since its establishment in 1997, JC Maclean International has worked on several projects including luxury hotels, shopping malls and royal palaces both in the UAE and outside.

As well as the physical mall, there are plans to sign all retailers up to a mega omni-channel ecosystem, which will be connected to an integrated e-commerce logistics hub and an aggregated customer app.

Customers can take a trip to the mall, as they normally would, and browse around various stores. However, instead of making several purchases and carrying shopping bags around, they can buy from the app and the product will be delivered to a digital locker, as part of a logistics hub created. It can then be picked up at the end of the visit.

Alternatively, shopping at Reem Mall could soon be completed from the comfort of your own home and delivered right to your doorstep, similar to Amazon, Noon.com and other online retailers.

Milat Sayra Berirmen, digital innovation director for Reem Mall, told Arabian Business last year: “At the nucleus of the programme is actually the single notion that a shopping mall needs to transform from the traditional mall to an over-arching entity connecting the consumer with the retailer. Outside the mall it’s 21st century, inside the mall, it’s 20th century.”

Berirmen said: “Unlike the rest of the players within the region, not only the UAE, I can safely say with confidence that Reem Mall is not only a real estate investment; Reem Mall is a technology investment, it’s a logistics investment; and it’s a real estate investment.”