High street fashion brand retailers expect strong consumer spending to continue into the second half of the year building on a robust first half performance including a 50 per cent spike in sales over the Eid weekend.
"Bridge" brands, such as Ted Baker and Bebe, which sit between value and luxury labels, did the best over the holiday period.
Like for like trading among bridge brands was up 53 per cent, said David Macadam, the chief executive and vice chairman for the Middle East and North Africa region of The International Council of Shopping Centres and the Middle East Council of Shopping Centres.
"It's a huge amount year over year. And the luxury brands are making their own way. They [were up] by 30 per cent to 35 per cent," he said.
However, sales of value brands were not as strong as they had been in previous years, added Mr Macadam.
"In past years the value retail had the biggest growth but this year they didn't have that growth at all. But that's an indication that people are feeling more positive when they are buying more expensive brands," said Mr Macadam.
"They are feeling confident about the future because they are spending their money."
The bumper sales were a continuation of a trend which began before Ramadan with the Dubai Summer Surprises festival and will not end until next month with back to school preparations.
"These three months of July, August and September are very good for the economy, for retail," said Nassim Nasr, the general manager of Integer.
The second, bigger Eid, Eid Al Adha, in October, is unlikely to match the boost in sales, added Mr Macadam. But retail would likely remain strong for the rest of the year.
"I wouldn't think it would be as big again but what I would say is that there is optimism in the market, which is very positive and that people are spending today's dollars with the expectation that the future will hold even more," said Mr Macadam.
Dubai Mall welcomed hundreds of thousands of visitors over the weekend, according to Nasser Rafi, the chief executive at Emaar Malls Group.
"Led by the Eid in Dubai campaign, which served as a strong catalyst for growth, The Dubai Mall offered visitors superb deals and promotions across its various facets, from retail stores to the leisure attractions, energising the retail and tourism sectors of the city," he said.
"Having recorded robust visitor arrivals this Eid, we look forward to the sustained tourist footfall through the rest of the year," added Mr Rafi.
And there are reasons to be optimistic about tourist spending going forward.
Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing statistics show that there has been an 18 per cent increase in inbound travellers from the GCC in the first half of the year compared to the same period the year previously.
Dubai is a big destination during holidays for tourists from Saudi Arabia and Qatar, which both gave their public sector workers 12 days off for Eid Al Fitr. The long break was another factor in the surging sales, according to experts.
"Inbound leisure travel in particular from Saudi Arabia traditionally increases during summer and festive periods - a major factor that influences this surge is the promotional offers by hotels and retailers to attract GCC families to Dubai, including competitive room rates, attractive discounts and promotions as well as a wide variety of family orientated activities in malls and other leisure destinations within the city," said Gaurav Sinha, the founder and chief executive of Insignia.
"Saudi shoppers are also big spenders and this helps retailers as they increase both transaction values and enjoy higher footfall through their outlets."
Sales to Saudi tourists were responsible for the bulk of the 10 to 15 per cent increase in business by Pure Gold Jewellers.
"Local sales was not very impressive because most of the expats are out of the country but luckily we got good business from Middle Eastern [tourists] who came here," said Firoz Merchant, the chairman and founder of Pure Gold.
gduncan@thenational.ae
Read more from Kareem Shaheen
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
The more serious side of specialty coffee
While the taste of beans and freshness of roast is paramount to the specialty coffee scene, so is sustainability and workers’ rights.
The bulk of genuine specialty coffee companies aim to improve on these elements in every stage of production via direct relationships with farmers. For instance, Mokha 1450 on Al Wasl Road strives to work predominantly with women-owned and -operated coffee organisations, including female farmers in the Sabree mountains of Yemen.
Because, as the boutique’s owner, Garfield Kerr, points out: “women represent over 90 per cent of the coffee value chain, but are woefully underrepresented in less than 10 per cent of ownership and management throughout the global coffee industry.”
One of the UAE’s largest suppliers of green (meaning not-yet-roasted) beans, Raw Coffee, is a founding member of the Partnership of Gender Equity, which aims to empower female coffee farmers and harvesters.
Also, globally, many companies have found the perfect way to recycle old coffee grounds: they create the perfect fertile soil in which to grow mushrooms.
The specs
Engine: Long-range single or dual motor with 200kW or 400kW battery
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Max touring range: 620km / 590km
Price: From Dh250,000 (estimated)
THE SPECS
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
Power: 420kW
Torque: 780Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh1,350,000
On sale: Available for preorder now
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
All the Money in the World
Director: Ridley Scott
Starring: Charlie Plummer, Mark Wahlberg, Michelle Williams, Christopher Plummer
Four stars
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
PROFILE
Name: Enhance Fitness
Year started: 2018
Based: UAE
Employees: 200
Amount raised: $3m
Investors: Global Ventures and angel investors
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
The essentials
What: Emirates Airline Festival of Literature
When: Friday until March 9
Where: All main sessions are held in the InterContinental Dubai Festival City
Price: Sessions range from free entry to Dh125 tickets, with the exception of special events.
Hot Tip: If waiting for your book to be signed looks like it will be timeconsuming, ask the festival’s bookstore if they have pre-signed copies of the book you’re looking for. They should have a bunch from some of the festival’s biggest guest authors.
Information: www.emirateslitfest.com
Company profile
Company name: Dharma
Date started: 2018
Founders: Charaf El Mansouri, Nisma Benani, Leah Howe
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: TravelTech
Funding stage: Pre-series A
Investors: Convivialite Ventures, BY Partners, Shorooq Partners, L& Ventures, Flat6Labs
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
Price, base / as tested: Dh182,178
Engine: 3.7-litre V6
Power: 350hp @ 7,400rpm
Torque: 374Nm @ 5,200rpm
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 10.5L / 100km
Medicus AI
Started: 2016
Founder(s): Dr Baher Al Hakim, Dr Nadine Nehme and Makram Saleh
Based: Vienna, Austria; started in Dubai
Sector: Health Tech
Staff: 119
Funding: €7.7 million (Dh31m)
The biog
Age: 23
Occupation: Founder of the Studio, formerly an analyst at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi
Education: Bachelor of science in industrial engineering
Favourite hobby: playing the piano
Favourite quote: "There is a key to every door and a dawn to every dark night"
Family: Married and with a daughter
