REGIONAL ROUND UPFEATURE - OMAN
POST PANDEMIC
OBSERVATIONS Gogi George has been working in the retail sector in the Middle East region for the past 20+ years. He is the GM for Project Development and Leasing for Lulu Group International and oversees retail developments for the group in Oman. A veteran and turnaround specialist in mall retail development and redevelopment, Gogi has been in a leadership role for several iconic projects and has been instrumental in the multiple expansions of Oman Avenues Mall including the new IKEA anchored expansion to name a few.
C
OVID had a significant impact on the way we live, how we conduct our lives and how we have adapted to new and emerging retail trends.
In the year 2020, COVID resulted in significant business disruptions in the retail sector in Oman. In fact, there are some sectors that have been fully closed for business for more than 270 days due to the containment efforts. 2021 had also a significant impact, however, the latter part of the year was in a waning stage. The start of 2022 offered a glimmer of hope for the sector with the majority of restrictions being relaxed including capacity restrictions in parking and mall entries, allowing the major foot to fall centric areas like FECs, Restaurants, Cinemas etc. to operate with minimal restrictions.
RETAIL PEOPLE . MAY - JUL 2022
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GOGI GEORGE
General Manager, Development & Leasing OMAN AVENUES MALL LULU GROUP INTERNATIONAL MECS+R Board Member
What are the notable post-pandemic behaviours visible?
E-commerce emergence as an alternative to brickand-mortar business was accelerated during the pandemic, however, retail is slowly returning to the traditional format, understandably due to the experiential and engaging behaviours missing on e-commerce platforms. While e-commerce businesses are predominantly driven by convenience,
