Saudi Gazette: Sales volume of KSA & Gulf retail industry hits SR270b

THE Annual Meeting of Retailers and Directors of Shopping Centers, was organized recently in Jeddah by the Middle East Council of Shopping Centers (MECSC) at Park Hyatt Hotel and attended by elite businessmen, top executives and prominent shopping experts in the Middle East. The meeting aimed to enhance, develop and facilitate information ... More

Al Arabiya: Franchises flock to Dubai, as demand struggles to keep up

Lululemon, Old Navy, Abercrombie & Fitch, All Saints and Five Guys are just a few of the new faces on Dubai’s ever-expanding retail scene.  With franchise brands projected to double within the next seven years and mall space ballooning, retailers worry whether consumer demand can keep pace.  Retailers are already suffering from such ... More

Business News: Ten upcoming malls at a cost of $1.5 billion

Ten shopping centers will open in the coming three years. They will be located in Beirut, Saida, Tyre, the Bekaa, Byblos, and Jounieh, according to Nabil Gebrael, the regional representative to Lebanon of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) and the Middle East Council of Shopping Centers (MECSC). Gebrael said: “There ... More

The National: Saudi retail sector is its success story

Saudi Arabia’s retail sector is booming as the government eases restrictions on foreign investment and its young population keeps spending amid the fall in oil prices. The country is ramping up efforts to diversify its economy away from its reliance on the oil sector, which accounts for about 80 per cent of its GDP. Retail is expected to ... More

The National: Growth of luxury retail sector in the UAE to slow

ABU DHABI // Shoppers say they will continue to spend on luxury goods – even as experts forecast slower growth of luxury retail sales this year. As the peak shopping season begins, with the shopping festival in Dubai and New Year sales across the UAE, experts said the retail sector would expand this year but at a slower rate than the ... More

Khaleej Times: Why training staff for retail is critical

 Macadam said that sales staff benefit most when uniform expectations are communicated. Training staff in the retail segment is important, as highly-trained retail staff can positively impact sales turnover manyfold, said David Macadam, CEO of the Middle East Council of Shopping Centres, or MECSC. Speaking to Khaleej Times in an ... More

The National: High hopes Emiratis will buy idea of a career in UAE’s retail industry

Retail is not considered a traditional career option among Emiratis - but the Middle East Council of Shopping Centres (MECSC) is hoping to change that. The organisation is aiming to attract more UAE nationals into the industry over the next few years. Here, David Macadam, the new chief executive and vice chairman of the group and the ... More