REGIONAL ROUND UPFEATURE - OMAN
Oman Retail Industry
Market Insights and Growth Forecasts HUSSAIN K. JAMAL, CSM, CLS Head, Mall Operation Mall of Muscat MECS+R Regional Representative – Oman
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estled on the edge of the Arabian Peninsula the Sultanate of Oman is an exotic destination filled with incredible attractions and cities. No wonder it has been recently declared the seventh-best tourist destination in the world due to various factors such as environmental richness, biodiversity, and the unique nature of its reserves. The Retail Sector in Oman has its roots, like many of its contemporaries in the Souqs and Markets along the coastline and harbours which were major trading hubs for businessmen, this trend continued up until the late 80s when the first of the many new shopping malls such as Sabco Centre (Qurum) came into play. The coming decade brings more much smaller centres cropped up throughout the city such as Al Araimi
RETAIL PEOPLE . MAY - JUL 2022
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Centre and Zakher Centre. In the Early 2000’s, the country witnessed the opening of big format Shopping Centres such as City Centre Muscat followed by centres namely Muscat Grand Mall, City Centre Qurum, Markaz Al Bahja, Avenues Mall, Oasis Malls and Al Araimi Boulevard. Fast Forward to 2019 and the country witnessed the opening of a landmark luxurious destination centre, Mall of Muscat, which embodied the future of shopping malls. With a clear distinction in lifestyle, leisure and entertainment components including the only public aquarium in the country, ‘Oman Aquarium’. And then came COVID-19 which dealt a devastating blow to the retail industry due to the crippling restrictions on the business which was needed to curtail the spread of the disease.
