Satyendra Pathak
Doha
World-class malls have made Qatar a paradise for both local and international shoppers, Al Asmakh Valuations and Research Director Gaurav Borikar has said.
"Qatar has about 24 shopping malls with net leasable area of around 1.5 million square metres. Furthermore, five prominent malls with almost 60,000 square metre additional net leasable area are almost complete and ready to be operational in the near future,” Borikar said.
By the end of the first quarter of 2020, he said, Qatar would have about 2.1 million square metres of net leasable space in shopping mall category, which is on and above the retail space in traditional market, souqs, and street shopping.
According to Borikar, the new malls to be operation in Qatar are Place Vendome Mall, Boulevard Mall, Doha Mall, Doha Oasis and one more.
While most malls in Qatar cater to shoppers of all budget categories, he said, a few malls such as Al Hazm Mall, a part of Villagio Mall, a section of Doha Festival City and Mall of Qatar are dedicated to luxury shopping which includes but not limited to the premium brands such as Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Hermes, Gucci, Rolex, Cartier, Burberry, Christian Dior, YSL, Prada, and so forth. The upcoming Place Vendome Mall will also cater to the luxury segment.
"Delivering a world class shopping experience to visitors from across the globe, malls in Qatar have so much diversity in style and interpretations of large audience. Accompanied by departmental stores, bookstores, florist, travel accessories, and supermarkets, almost all major international brands have their outlets in malls to attract global shoppers,” he said.
Stating that Qatari malls offer diverse range of entertainment across all age group, he said, "Doha Festival City has the world’s first Angry Bird indoor and outdoor park, gaming hub Virtuocity with over 200 stations for international level championships, and an indoor snow park called Snow Dune. Villaggio offers experience of indoor Venice gondolas. Central arena in Mall of Qatar has year-round entertainment in addition to Kids Mondo and Xtremeland for the kids of all ages. Almost all malls have Cinema for family entertainment.”
Besides these world-class malls, he said, the traditional market, souqs, and street shopping offer experience of buying local and regional brands in Qatar.
"Souq Waqif, a 20th century traditional Qatari architecture style market has several small shops with a stunning array of Middle Eastern merchandise such as traditional garments, spices, handicrafts, perfumes, jewellery, and souvenirs,” he said.
Making Qatar an ideal destination for food lovers, these malls, souqs, and traditional market have cafes, food stalls, and restaurants offering cuisines from traditional Arabic to trendy international. Many shoppers today pick a mall to visit primarily based on the food options available there, he said.
According to Borikar, shopping malls in Qatar address all that matters to a shoppercTracking:>
Convenience: Access roads for self-driving, availability of cabs at competitive tariffs, less transportation time and enough parking lots.
Value for money: Average price in comparison of international market price, sale season, and bargain deals.
Collection: A wide range of top international brands by shopping categories, varieties in showrooms, room for all group of shoppers from luxury to budget, specialty boutiques, departmental stores and traditional shopping.
Ambiance: Affability of store staff, convenience of all-around shopping at one place, kids’ amusement area, food courts, restaurants and family entertainment.
Doha
World-class malls have made Qatar a paradise for both local and international shoppers, Al Asmakh Valuations and Research Director Gaurav Borikar has said.
"Qatar has about 24 shopping malls with net leasable area of around 1.5 million square metres. Furthermore, five prominent malls with almost 60,000 square metre additional net leasable area are almost complete and ready to be operational in the near future,” Borikar said.
By the end of the first quarter of 2020, he said, Qatar would have about 2.1 million square metres of net leasable space in shopping mall category, which is on and above the retail space in traditional market, souqs, and street shopping.
According to Borikar, the new malls to be operation in Qatar are Place Vendome Mall, Boulevard Mall, Doha Mall, Doha Oasis and one more.
While most malls in Qatar cater to shoppers of all budget categories, he said, a few malls such as Al Hazm Mall, a part of Villagio Mall, a section of Doha Festival City and Mall of Qatar are dedicated to luxury shopping which includes but not limited to the premium brands such as Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Hermes, Gucci, Rolex, Cartier, Burberry, Christian Dior, YSL, Prada, and so forth. The upcoming Place Vendome Mall will also cater to the luxury segment.
"Delivering a world class shopping experience to visitors from across the globe, malls in Qatar have so much diversity in style and interpretations of large audience. Accompanied by departmental stores, bookstores, florist, travel accessories, and supermarkets, almost all major international brands have their outlets in malls to attract global shoppers,” he said.
Stating that Qatari malls offer diverse range of entertainment across all age group, he said, "Doha Festival City has the world’s first Angry Bird indoor and outdoor park, gaming hub Virtuocity with over 200 stations for international level championships, and an indoor snow park called Snow Dune. Villaggio offers experience of indoor Venice gondolas. Central arena in Mall of Qatar has year-round entertainment in addition to Kids Mondo and Xtremeland for the kids of all ages. Almost all malls have Cinema for family entertainment.”
Besides these world-class malls, he said, the traditional market, souqs, and street shopping offer experience of buying local and regional brands in Qatar.
"Souq Waqif, a 20th century traditional Qatari architecture style market has several small shops with a stunning array of Middle Eastern merchandise such as traditional garments, spices, handicrafts, perfumes, jewellery, and souvenirs,” he said.
Making Qatar an ideal destination for food lovers, these malls, souqs, and traditional market have cafes, food stalls, and restaurants offering cuisines from traditional Arabic to trendy international. Many shoppers today pick a mall to visit primarily based on the food options available there, he said.
According to Borikar, shopping malls in Qatar address all that matters to a shoppercTracking:>
Convenience: Access roads for self-driving, availability of cabs at competitive tariffs, less transportation time and enough parking lots.
Value for money: Average price in comparison of international market price, sale season, and bargain deals.
Collection: A wide range of top international brands by shopping categories, varieties in showrooms, room for all group of shoppers from luxury to budget, specialty boutiques, departmental stores and traditional shopping.
Ambiance: Affability of store staff, convenience of all-around shopping at one place, kids’ amusement area, food courts, restaurants and family entertainment.