Festival City visit - Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Dubai Festival City was our next stop. On Thursday the 16th of July we were greeted by Martina Boor, Marketing Manager for the centre, who gave us a very informative presentation. Martina provided us with a refreshing insight, not only into Festival City, but also into Dubai as a whole. Martina allowed us to ask plenty of questions, and then took us on a guided tour of the mall. Festival City services the local market and has quite an Arabian feel about it. Festival City currently has 450 stores, and this will increase to 600 stores upon completion. Martina explained how the social status of woman in Dubai is measured by their jewellery, handbags and shoes. As a result, these are very important areas within the retail market. Jewellery is tradition and is big business in Dubai. Festival City has a Gold market place, which we noticed to be quite different to that at Dubai Mall. They predominantly cater for the local market with the very bright yellow gold in styles more suited to the nationals. Festival City has regular marketing campaigns, of which some have included visits from US celebrities. Martina explained how it takes some time for a new mall to establish itself in Dubai, and the competition is huge.

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