Over the course of three a long time, Majid Al Futtaim has welcomed 600 million guests yearly throughout 29 purchasing locations, making them the preeminent mall operator within the Center East.
All that foot site visitors gave the corporate one thing equally as worthwhile because the lease checks — unparalleled perception into shopper conduct, purchasing patterns, and rising developments within the area. A decade in the past, the corporate made a pivot. Reasonably than merely offering house for worldwide retailers, Majid Al Futtaim positioned itself as the popular accomplice for worldwide manufacturers searching for Center Japanese entry.
The consequence? The corporate’s way of life division has developed right into a powerhouse with 26 % income progress in 2024, and digital gross sales surging 31 %, a testomony to an omnichannel technique born from watching how prospects truly store.
Majid Al Futtaim opened the primary stand-alone Shiseido magnificence retailer exterior of Asia.
Majid Al Futtaim’s way of life division’s enterprise reads like a fastidiously curated reply to the query, “What do Center Japanese shoppers actually need?” The group began by tapping into the wellness-fashion motion, bringing Lululemon to the Center East in 2015 with the primary retailer opening in Mall of the Emirates. Ten years later, they function over 20 Lululemon shops, with some Dubai areas rating among the many model’s high world performers.
The portfolio strategically expanded into house furnishings with Crate & Barrel and CB2, magnificence with Shiseido’s solely stand-alone retailer exterior of Asia, and specialty retail with Lego Licensed Shops.
The corporate’s most up-to-date luxurious growth, the debut of Italian manufacturers Eleventy and Corneliani this yr, alerts their ambitions past athleisure and mass premium.
Eleventy
One other straw in Majid Al Futtaim’s hat is THAT Idea Retailer, launched at Mall of the Emirates in 2021. The homegrown multibrand vacation spot not solely provides the mall an providing totally different from the franchise fashions, nevertheless it features as a retail laboratory, testing new manufacturers in a shop-in-shop format earlier than scaling them to stand-alone areas. Eleventy’s journey — from THAT to pop-up to 5 stand-alone shops — exemplifies this test-and-scale methodology.
“In a area the place prospects have an abundance of selection, our ambition is to curate a portfolio of luxurious manufacturers that provide one thing actually distinctive,” stated Fahed Ghanim, chief govt officer of Majid Al Futtaim’s Life-style division. “By introducing manufacturers like Eleventy, Corneliani, and Poltrona Frau, we’re bringing new dimensions to the posh market — combining timeless craftsmanship with fashionable sensibilities that resonate with the refined tastes of our prospects.”
Italian luxurious furnishings maker Poltrona Frau in Dubai.
Majid Al Futtaim opened 26 shops within the first quarter of this yr, pushing their whole retailer rely effectively over 100. These consists of flagship areas for Lululemon, Psycho Bunny, Shiseido, Poltrona Frau, Crate & Barrel, and THAT. The model’s are supported by 35 e-commerce platforms that mirror Majid Al Futtaim’s perception in an omnichannel strategy.
Trying forward, 2026 is positioned as one other milestone yr, with plans to open greater than 25 shops throughout the area. Twelve of these will launch in Saudi Arabia, underscoring the Kingdom’s standing as a precedence marketplace for the group’s growth technique.
From understanding foot site visitors patterns to curating world manufacturers, Majid Al Futtaim’s journey from landlord to retail operator demonstrates how operational experience in a single area fuels transformation into one other.
