Food Central at City Centre Deira Serves Up a Perfect Example of Retail Optimism and Resilience

at City Centre Deira Serves Up the Perfect Example of Retail Optimism and Resilience

Successful shopping malls are more than just sizable indoor shopping centres. When designed to effectively engage with the people they serve, these impressive retail destinations become all-important pillars of the communities they operate in; standing tall as crucial sources of support that uphold the structure of modern towns and cities — of society. Operated by Majid Al Futtaim — the leading shopping mall, communities, retail, and leisure pioneer across the Middle East, Africa, and Asia — City Centre Deira is one of Dubai’s most successful malls.

The mall was launched in 1995 and is the UAE’s first shopping, lifestyle and entertainment mall. Nestled in the heart of the Deira area of Dubai, it also enjoys the proud distinction of being the region’s first flagship shopping mall to house international brands, dining outlets and entertainment offerings. Today, more than 22 million people visit the mall each year, frequenting its wide selection of food, retail, leisure and entertainment outlets.

In addition to celebrating its 25th anniversary, the mall recently introduced a new culinary experience to the region with the launch of Food Central: a one-of-a-kind gastronomic destination that redefines mall dining, providing a modern update on traditional food hall concepts.

Food Central is the focal point of the mall’s AED 377 million redevelopment project; an ambitious project launched to further enhance mall visitors’ shopping experiences by creating a more

memorable and convenient customer journey. In the wake of COVID-19, Food Central — as with City Centre Deira’s wider development — speaks to the resilience of Majid Al Futtaim, City Centre Deira and the retail industry. It attests to the grit and mettle the UAE as a whole is renowned for while reflecting the optimism of its consumers and the business community.

That Majid Al Futtaim and City Centre Deira have invested so much time, money and resources to ensuring the mall remain successful in accomplishing its goals — creating great moments for everyone, every day — only goes to show that, in spite of the challenges presented by crises such as the coronavirus pandemic, there remains a great deal of confidence in the power of retail to inspire cherished memories for the friends, families and communities that have come to rely and lean on flagship destinations like City Centre Deira as the pillars of their lives.

This investment has not only led to the introduction of Food Central, but it has also resulted in improved mobility and the enhanced flow of footfall to key parts of the mall to create an even smoother shopping experience; with additional elevators and escalators being unveiled in the mall’s Centre Court and East Court. These additions, as with that of Food Central, ultimately underline Majid Al Futtaim’s commitment to reacting swiftly and appropriately in order to match customers’ evolving behaviours, habits and demands.

While a number of notable and marquee businesses and brands have been left with little recourse or room for optimism, Majid Al Futtaim and its range of malls have been spurred on by the current circumstances to innovate; innovation is one of the secrets to its success over the years — a key factor that has helped — and continues to help — the company develops unique experiences for its customers.

Food Central is a prime example of this focus on innovation. The culinary concept was born from a desire to better serve mall visitors through engaging and immersive experiences. Shoppers and diners are invited to socialise, eat, drink, shop, and unwind; while enjoying unique and engaging installations such as a live beehive activation dripping with fresh honey, and Tube Dubai: an art installation consisting of flexible nets suspended from the walls and ceiling, forming a floating landscape for visitors to use as a social space and explore the venue from above.

The new concept has been introduced in recognition of the fact that today, customers are looking for increasingly personalised experiences. It has been developed in response to rising consumer expectations for fresh and authentic dining options, with the innovative gastronomic destination

Food Central is City Centre “

Deira and Majid Al Futtaim’s response to this shift in preference. It delivers a renewed shopping and dining experience for the people of

Dubai. "

serving up a variety of interactive dining experiences that immerse customers in the theatre of cuisines all around the world. Food Central is City Centre Deira and Majid Al Futtaim’s response to this shift in preference. It delivers a renewed shopping and dining experience for the people of Dubai.

City Centre Deira’s redevelopment emphasises that innovation is crucial to overcoming challenges. The retail industry’s digital and e-commerce push reiterates this. This could also be seen with Majid Al Futtaim and its range of malls, such as City Centre Deira. With customers now prioritising safety and convenience when they shop, retailers and brands have fixed their attention on developing retail experiences that cater to this demand. This has led to the omni-channel era of retail; one marked by accessible, streamlined experiences in which customers can engage with their favourite stores using an app or by visiting a retailer’s website.

Majid Al Futtaim has risen to the challenges posed by COVID-19 to develop a robust digital and omnichannel strategy to deliver pioneering concepts that constantly set a new benchmark in retail, property, leisure and entertainment. Over the course of the last few months, the company has introduced offerings such as Click & Collect, which allows customers to shop online and collect their groceries from a pick-up spot at an allotted time; as well as a new, engaging platform set up to present customers with a glittering array of luxury and exclusive brands: THAT pop-up store and curated multi-brand mobile app, offering shoppers

even more access to exclusive luxury collections. In addition to THAT and Click & Collect, Majid Al Futtaim has also launched Trends at Your Doorstep (a platform launched to help its UAE mall tenant partners continue trading following the government-mandated closure of malls). As technical as all this might be, people are still very much at the heart of these innovations; with malls such as City Centre Deira using these digital platforms to please and create more great moments for their customers. It is this human-centric philosophy that shapes the mall’s many corporate social responsibility efforts and sustainability; be it helping Majid Al Futtaim to accomplish its goal of having a Net Positive business model by 2040, or pushing for energy efficiency.

It is this single-minded determination to curate spaces where families, friends and communities are given endless opportunities to craft memories that not only speaks to the retail industry’s confidence in its future but inspires it.

“In launching Food

Central, City Centre Deira continues to innovate and evolve in line with customer needs and

Majid Al Futtaim’s vision for the retail sector."