NATIONAL Trading and Developing Establishment (NTDE), a UAE-based distributor of FMCG products, is planning to open five new outlets, including its branded NewsCentre, Snack & More and Häagen-Dazs Café, at Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), the city’s financial hub. The stores are all expected to open in mid-November, a spokeswoman for the company told Retail News Middle East.
DIFC is expected to become a base for numerous international financial institutions, making it a prime location for NTDE’s convenience concept stores, café and laundry chains, according to Farid Ahmadi, CEO, NTDE. The new stores will include NTDE’s NewsCentre and Snack & More, the premium ice cream parlour Häagen- Dazs Café, Champion Cleaners – Dry Cleaning & Laundry, and NTDE’s strongest brand – Smokers’ Centre.
“DIFC is one of the most attractive business locations in Dubai,” Ahmadi said. “For one, it offers us the opportunity to reach a wide consumer group and, more importantly some of our brands such as NewsCentre and Snack & More are best suited to the convenience shopping concept which is ideal in the DIFC business district,” he added.
Babak Moghaddam, operations manager, Champion Cleaners added that the development will also be the first time Champion Cleaners will open at a business centre of any kind. “We expect this to be the forerunner of similar initiatives,” he said. “We will be introducing a ‘same day’ laundry service with the opening of Champion Cleaners at DIFC, which we expect will be popular with time bound executives.”
The NTDE outlets are strategically located with DIFC. While Häagen- Dazs and NewsCentre can be found amongst other restaurants and cafes in the food and beverage section, Champion Cleaners is situated in the service area, and Smokers’ Centre at the main gate precinct building.
NTDE has grown rapidly over the past year and now has 33 Smokers’ Centres across the UAE, as well as five NewsCentres, nine Häagen- Dazs Cafés, and a Snack & More outlet. NTDE was formed in 1971 and is headed by founder and chairman Hassan Ahmadi.
Follow us on
