Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 29 March 2015: This year Majid Al Futtaim, the leading shopping mall, retail and leisure pioneer across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), is celebrating two decades of great moments, starting with the 20th anniversary of City Centre Deira, its first shopping mall development in Dubai and the first City Centre development in what today is the largest shopping mall network brand s in the region.
This year also marks the anniversary of a number of Majid Al Futtaim iconic brands that helped transform the face of shopping and entertainment in Dubai, including:
- 20th anniversary of Carrefour … The first international hypermarket in the region and first to be integrated with a shopping mall, has expanded to 13 countries in the region with more than 60 hypermarkets and 70 supermarkets.
- 20th anniversary of Magic Planet … First introduced at City Centre Deira, the Magic Planet experience includes rides, games and entertainment adventures 17 locations in 8 countries that help keep the entire family young at heart.
- 15th anniversary of VOX Cinemas … The region’s largest multiplex network now has 129 screens, including cutting-edge digital 2D, 3D and 4D and luxury movie viewing experiences. Over the past 15 years VOX Cinemas has screened 5,000 films to 50 million customers.
- 10th anniversary of Mall of the Emirates … The opening of the region’s first shopping resort and entertainment center achieved worldwide attention and acclaim. More than 300 million people have visited more than 590 stores featuring international, regional and local brands. Mall of the Emirates will mark its 10th anniversary with the completion of Evolution 2015, a major redevelopment and expansion project that will include a series of new shopping, entertainment and dining concepts.
10th anniversary of Ski Dubai … The Middle East’s first indoor ski resort and world’s largest indoor snow park did the unimaginable by giving more than 8 million people the opportunity to touch real snow in the desert.
In 2014, the Dubai-based company launched a new corporate brand campaign to reinforce with customers, partners and employees the Majid Al Futtaim vision: “To Create Great Moments for Everyone, Everyday.” In 2015, the company will build on that campaign through a year-long series of events, promotions, activities and surprises at all its destinations to commemorate its brands’ anniversaries.
“Over the last 20 years Majid Al Futtaim developed a portfolio of shopping and entertainment destinations that are true to our ideals and values. We set out to transform the face of shopping by creating innovative new experiences that expand our world and inspire those around us,” said Majid Al Futtaim Holding CEO Alain Bejjani.
Since the opening of City Centre Deira, more than 1.6 billion people have visited Majid Al Futtaim retail and entertainment destinations, including more than 250 million last year.
Majid Al Futtaim has developed retail and entertainment destinations, hotels and residential communities worth AED 45 billion in asset value. Since establishment, the company has expanded across the Middle East and North Africa to build a powerful network of malls that has been used as a gateway and launch pad for some of the world’s most renowned brands.
Majid Al Futtaim signature destinations in the region include a 15,000-square-metre indoor/outdoor water park in City Centre Bahrain, the largest cinema network in Oman – operated by VOX, as well as Lebanon’s first LEED Gold certified mall in City Centre Beirut. Most recently Majid Al Futtaim announced a five-year EGP22.5 billion investment plan in partnership with the government of Egypt. The flagship project in that development plan is the new Mall of Egypt, a 455,000 square meter facility that will include the first-ever indoor ski slope in Africa.
Majid Al Futtaim has made significant investments in its commitment to good corporate governance, sustainability initiatives and community empowerment as core pillars of its business model. Majid Al Futtaim has supported the Dubai and UAE government initiatives to promote the city and country as a global tourist destination. Through partnership with Dubai Festivals and Retail Establishment (DFRE), the company has played an instrumental role supporting major tourism-related events. It participated in the first Dubai Shopping Festival which kicked off the year City Centre Deira opened, and has also been a strategic partner of Dubai Summer Surprises.
“While we are proud of what we’ve accomplished over the past 20 years, we have ambitious plans for the future. Our intention is to double the size of our business in the next five years,” said Mr. Bejjani. “While that growth will come from both investment in existing brands like you are seeing in Mall of the Emirates as well as in market expansion like you are seeing in Egypt, everything we do will build on our commitment to innovation and enhancing customer experiences. Whether we are looking at new entertainment concepts, refining our current offering or developing a new loyalty program, the question we always ask is how will this contribute to our ability to create great moments for everyone, everyday.”