Business
Gulf mall operators rein in expansion as retailers reel from COVID-19
DUBAI (Reuters) – Mall operators in the Gulf region are delaying new mega-projects as the coronavirus pandemic and low oil prices upend a retail industry built around huge centres catering to tourists and wealthy locals.
Majid Al Futtaim (MAF), the Middle East’s biggest mall-operator, told Reuters it had delayed the launch of its fifth and largest centre in Oman, the 145,000 square-metre (1.5 million sq-ft) Mall of Oman, because retailers did not have the cash at hand to fit out stores.
In Dubai, Emaar Malls EMAA.DU halted construction on two projects, according to two sources familiar with the plans. They are a mall near the site of the Expo 2020 world fair, which has been delayed by a year to next October, and a 185,000 square-metre mall in the Dubai Hills residential area, the people said.
Emaar Malls, owner and operator of the world’s largest shopping centre, Dubai Mall, did not respond to a request for comment.
“In malls under construction, timelines are being revisited. This is a fluid situation,” MAF’s Chief Executive Alain Bejjani told Reuters. “We will see how it goes and adapt,” he added. “It will be the case for the coming 12 months.”
Luxury malls, featuring international brands and entertainments such as dancing fountains and indoor ski slopes, have been the cornerstone of the oil-producing region’s retail industry, especially during the blistering summer months.
A growing population and steady stream of tourists has seen more projects planned in recent years even as competition has intensified and footfall has levelled off.
Last year, Alpen Capital forecast the Gulf retail sector to grow from $253 billion in 2018 to $308 billion in 2023.
‘All in tough spot’
The pandemic has changed the game in a matter of months, though.
Brick-and-mortar retailers have been among the worst hit by coronavirus closures. At Dubai’s Mall of the Emirates last week, several shop fronts were boarded up and rental dispute notices hung in some shop windows, a visitor said.
EFG Hermes forecast a 20% drop in Dubai store-based sales in 2020 if foreign visitors were allowed entry in the third quarter, and a 40% drop if travel bans remain until year-end.
MAF, which operates 27 malls across the Middle East, said retailers in the Gulf region were not expecting a meaningful recovery for the sector in the next 18-24 months. Foot traffic at its malls in the United Arab Emirates in May was less than half of what it was a year ago, it added.
“They are all in a tough spot. They’re focusing on liquidity issues,” Bejjani said.
He said the impact was being felt, from retailers to companies in their supply chain. Some of the firms will “throw in the towel” this year, he added.
Kuwait’s Alshaya Group, the Gulf’s largest franchise operator with brands including Starbucks, Pottery Barn and The Cheesecake Factory, provided a grim outlook in April in an internal staff video seen by Reuters.
“Today, less than 5% of our stores are open … Our revenues have shrunk by 95%, whilst our cost base has stayed the same,” said acting Chief Executive John Hadden. “This is not sustainable for any business anywhere in the world.”
Alshaya declined to comment.
Race to go online
The slow move to online sales in the region has compounded retailers’ problems.
Though malls reopened last month in the region’s two largest markets, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, some customers still worry about COVID-19.
“I just looked at things from a distance and didn’t buy anything,” said Sahimaa in Riyadh. “I couldn’t get myself to touch anything.”
A senior executive at a large fashion conglomerate, who declined to be named, said 96% of sales last year in the Gulf came from malls, versus 4% from e-commerce.
“To get 80% from online, vs 20% brick and mortar – that’s not gonna happen in the next 20 years,” the executive said.
Online sales in Saudi Arabia accounted for about 0.8% of retail sales in 2018, and 1.5% in the UAE, according to a Boston Consulting Group report. By contrast, online grabbed more than 14% of retail sales in the United States in 2018, research firm Digital Commerce 360 found.
Many mall operators have offered a digital platform for shops to place products online to help cope with the pain.
MAF has placed some of the shops that sell household items on its Carrefour shopping marketplace, for example. Emaar Malls helped its tenants at Dubai malls place products on Namshi, an e-commerce website it owns, and Noon.com.
“People still stood on the fence, thinking e-commerce is in the future. Because of corona, they were forced to use the available technologies,” said Rabih Khoury, partner at Dubai-based venture capital firm Middle East Venture Partners.
“You have to have the digital part. If you don’t have it, it is as if you don’t have a key location at a mall.”
Reporting and photo: Reuters
Business
Feydhoo Hall opens at dusitD2 Feydhoo Maldives as new event space
Dusit International, one of Thailand’s leading hotel and property development companies, has announced the opening of Feydhoo Hall, a landmark event venue at dusitD2 Feydhoo Maldives, redefining the possibilities for meetings, celebrations, and destination events in the Maldives.
Designed to bring scale, flexibility, and creativity to island gatherings, Feydhoo Hall represents a bold step forward in positioning the Maldives as a dynamic destination for conferences, weddings, and large-scale social occasions.
Feydhoo Hall offers a versatile event complex designed to accommodate a wide range of gatherings, from corporate meetings and conferences to weddings and social celebrations.

At its core is the 390 sqm Main Hall, capable of hosting:
- Up to 300 guests in theatre-style setup
- Up to 240 guests for dining and banquet-style events
- Up to 200 guests for cocktail-style receptions
- Up to 144 guests in cluster-round configuration
Enhancing the flexibility of the venue are additional dedicated spaces, including:
- A 110 sqm Veranda Terrace, ideal for welcome receptions, breakout sessions, and pre-event gatherings, accommodating up to 100 guests for cocktail-style events.
- A spacious 1,000 sqm Lawn Space, perfect for large-scale outdoor celebrations, destination weddings, and open-air events, accommodating up to 400 guests for cocktail receptions and up to 350 guests for dining setups.
- The 55 sqm Ekugai Meeting Room, designed for smaller meetings and executive sessions, accommodating up to 30 guests in theatre or dining setup and 24 guests in cluster-round format.
Together, these integrated spaces create a seamless indoor-outdoor event experience, allowing planners to design dynamic and personalised event journeys.
True to the dusitD2 brand’s lifestyle-driven philosophy, Feydhoo Hall introduces a fresh approach to meetings and events — where productivity meets creativity in an inspiring island setting.
The venue offers flexible meeting formats designed to suit different event needs, including:
- Half-Day Meeting Package (4 hours) — ideal for focused sessions, executive meetings, and creative workshops.
- Full-Day Meeting Package (8 hours) — designed for immersive conferences, extended workshops, and large-scale corporate gatherings.
These thoughtfully structured packages provide planners with the flexibility to create impactful and seamless experiences, whether hosting intimate strategy sessions or dynamic full-day events.

Located just seven minutes by speedboat from Velana International Airport, dusitD2 Feydhoo Maldives combines accessibility with vibrant lifestyle energy, offering event planners and guests a rare balance between convenience and tropical escape.
With the introduction of Feydhoo Hall, the resort strengthens its position as a versatile destination — not only for leisure travellers but also for international conferences, creative retreats, luxury weddings, and large-scale social celebrations seeking something refreshingly different in the Maldives.
Business
BBM expands retail presence with new Hulhumalé outlet
Bestbuy Maldives (BBM) opened a new wholesale store in Hulhumalé Phase 2 on Monday.
The outlet is located on the ground floor of Lot 20286, Nirolhu Magu, and is intended to improve access to BBM’s imported goods for residents of Hulhumalé Phase 2 and for businesses operating in the area.
According to the company, the opening forms part of its plan to expand services closer to customers in line with population growth in Hulhumalé.
With the opening of the new store, BBM’s full range of imported and distributed products will be available at the Hulhumalé Phase 2 location. These include consumer goods from international brands such as Lifebuoy, Vaseline and Unilever.
The store will also stock wholesale food products from brands including Daily, Cavin’s and Redman.
BBM has supplied goods to resorts, hotels and retail outlets across the Maldives for several years.
Action
Ataraxis Grand & Spa hosts integrated work-and-dive corporate retreat in Fuvahmulah
Ataraxis Grand & Spa recently hosted a week-long, closed corporate offsite in Fuvahmulah for a US-based artificial intelligence company, highlighting the island’s growing suitability for integrated work-and-experience retreats. The retreat brought a group of 36 international professionals to the property, which was reserved exclusively for the programme.
Designed as a private company offsite, the stay combined structured daily work sessions with guided diving and beginner-friendly surf experiences, creating a balanced format that blended focused collaboration with physical reset.

A notable component of the programme was dive training and certification. During the retreat, 17 participants completed their Open Water certification, while a further six undertook the Advanced Open Water course, with training and dives scheduled alongside work sessions as part of the integrated itinerary.
Throughout the week, participants worked on-site using dedicated shared spaces supported by reliable high-speed internet, allowing meetings, informal collaboration and scheduled activities to take place within a single, uninterrupted environment. This setup enabled teams to move seamlessly between work periods and organised ocean activities without leaving the property.

Fuvahmulah’s natural and operational advantages formed a key part of the retreat’s appeal. As one of the Maldives’ largest inhabited islands, it offers immediate access to pelagic dive sites, internationally recognised shark diving and surf breaks suitable for instruction, alongside the infrastructure required to support extended group stays.

The offsite reflects a growing preference among technology and knowledge-sector teams for small-scale retreats that prioritise concentrated work environments and team cohesion over traditional conference formats. Such programmes typically involve longer stays and higher per-capita spend, aligning with sustainable, quality-driven tourism models.
The retreat also demonstrates how locally operated properties such as Ataraxis Grand & Spa are supporting this shift by delivering unified environments where accommodation, workspaces, connectivity and curated experiences operate as a single programme rather than separate services.

As organisations continue to explore alternative formats for strategy sessions, team resets and creative offsites, Ataraxis Grand & Spa’s experience positions Fuvahmulah as an increasingly viable destination for integrated corporate retreats.
Ataraxis Grand & Spa offers work-and-dive retreat programmes in Fuvahmulah that combine accommodation, dedicated workspaces, high-speed connectivity and organised diving and surfing.

Further information on retreat formats and dive-inclusive stays is available via the Ataraxis Grand & Spa website.
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