Emaar Retail, the entertainment and retail subsidiary of Emaar, has established a global imprint in the entertainment industry in less than a year, through key partnerships spanning the world, from Mexico to Singapore and Italy to Japan.
Bringing an unmatched portfolio of pioneering entertainment attractions to the Middle East region, Emaar Retail will make strategic expansions globally in line with the geographic growth of Emaar Properties, to build self-contained lifestyle environments.
Headlining Emaar Retail’s achievements in the past one year, the company created several hundred new jobs in the entertainment sector. This was led by the opening of Dubai Aquarium & Underwater Zoo, Dubai Ice Rink, SEGA Republic, KidZania® and Reel Cinemas, all based at The Dubai Mall, the world’s largest shopping centre. The opening of these world-class leisure attractions is also marked by partnerships with market-leading organisations.
The entertainment precinct welcomed more than 3 million visitors to its various attractions since their opening in phases, setting an industry milestone in visitor turnout.
Mr Arif Amiri, Chief Executive Officer, Emaar Retail, said: “In less than one year, Emaar Retail has successfully built an impressive track record in the region’s leisure and entertainment sector. This was led through global and regional partnerships, which complement the innovative concepts that the company has brought to the Middle East.”
He added: “Our partnerships will further power Emaar Retail’s growth story as we explore new opportunities in the entertainment and retail sector across the geographic footprint of Emaar in the Middle East & North Africa region and other growth markets,. Emaar Retail has also served as a driver for the domestic economy by creating several hundred new jobs and supporting tourism and retail – two of the vital sectors that contribute significantly to the GDP.”
Emaar Retail joined hands with Oceanis Australia Group, specialists in developing and operating aquariums around the world, to develop the largest suspended aquarium in the world, Dubai Aquarium & Underwater Zoo.
Partnering with SEGA Corporation, Japan’s leading indoor theme park developer, Emaar Retail opened the Middle East’s first and largest of its kind SEGA indoor theme park, the 76,000 square foot SEGA Republic.
Emaar Retail recently opened KidZania® Dubai, an award-winning children’s ‘edutainment’ concept from Mexico, where the company also created history with the largest of its corporate partnerships in the region. Emaar Retail has joined hands with over 30 global leading brands including Emirates Airline. These organizations - market leaders and pioneers in their sector - offer real-world environments in the 80,000 square foot attraction where children participate in over 70 professional role-play experiences.
The 22-screen Reel Cinemas is the UAE’s largest megaplex developed by Emaar Retail with Singapore-based Cathay Organisation Holdings Ltd. The cinema brings the Hollywood Chic concept of design to the region, in addition to introducing The Picturehouse, a dedicated cinema for arthouse movies. Reel Cinemas is also due to open its 6-screen cineplex at Dubai Marina Mall later this year.
Another attraction at The Dubai Mall, the Olympic-sized Dubai Ice Rink employs state-of-the-art technologies and serves as a model for indoor ice rink developments.
In a significant milestone, Emaar Retail also partnered with Giorgio Armani S.p.A to open the flagship store of Armani/Casa in The Dubai Mall, the first of many to open in the region. The Armani/Casa store offers a full collection of furniture, accessories, fabrics, ornaments and lighting as well as modular bathroom arrangements and kitchen systems – all personally designed by Mr Giorgio Armani, the fashion legend.
“These tie-ups are strategic investments for the future, and will benchmark Emaar Retail as the premier partner of choice for entertainment providers – across films, indoor leisure and luxury retail,” added Mr Amiri.
