A major shopping mall has reported a 67 percent increase in footfall during the Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF), compared to the same period last year.
Early indications also suggest that sales for the period at the Festival Centre, the retail arm of Dubai Festival City, were also up by more than 30 percent.
Centre bosses said on Wednesday the success was due to the efforts of retailers who had “pulled out all the stops” during a difficult economic period.
Tom Miles, director – Shopping Centres, Al-Futtaim Group Real Estate, said: “Businesses in Festival Centre pulled out all stops during DSF, which was a strong catalyst for this exceptional growth of 67 percent in footfall traffic over the previous year.
“We also increased our gross leasable area (GLA) by 13 percent adding a selection of quality retailers who are obviously performing very well.”
He added that the full figures for DSF would be reported in March but that early indications showed that sales increased by 36 percent from 2008 comparable stores.
Miles said: “The retail industry has been affected by the global economic slowdown so it is imperative people’s confidence is restored and consumer spending is stimulated. This in turn has challenged us, the mall management, to reach new heights this year.”
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