25-04-2025
Reimagining Mall of the Emirates as the UAE shopping centre turns 20
One of my most abiding memories of living in the UAE is of driving up the ramp into the newly opened Mall of the Emirates (MoE) in autumn 2005. Reader, it was a ghost town. As I gazed around at this young pretender to the BurJuman/Wafi retail throne 20 years ago, marvelling at the concept of a ski resort in the desert, I could never have predicted how MoE would evolve, expand and embed itself in the lives of Emiratis and expats alike over the next two decades. Nor, how long it would take me to drive up that same ramp, should I be so shortsighted as to attempt it on a Friday evening in 2025.
In the intervening 20 years, bigger, brasher malls have opened, neighbourhood shopping centres have beguiled their way into local communities, and noon has redefined instant gratification with its 15-minute delivery. And yet, through it all, MoE has proven unshakable from its position as the shopping centre that residents head to on the regular.
With 40 million visitors in 2024, it might not be the tourist draw of Dubai Mall (footfall 111 million in 2024, making it the most visited place on Earth), but visitors to MoE don't go to see fountains or fireworks; they go to spend in the 545 stores; see movies in the world's largest VOX Cinemas (the reclining seats just about make the chicken jockey scene in the new Minecraft movie bearable); and sip coffee in one of the 96 cafes and restaurants. Most importantly? The car park is easy to navigate.
Earlier this month, MoE-owner Majid Al Futtaim announced a Dh5 billion glow-up for its flagship mall, following a 26 per cent growth in the group's lifestyle business in 2024. As part of its expansion, the mall will add around 100 new stores and debut the New Covent Garden cultural area with a 600-seat theatre and the first Pineapple Dance Studios to open outside of London (here's hoping they'll teach the Irene Cara Flashdance routine). Using MoE's THAT Concept Store as an incubator, Majid Al Futtaim has also identified the opportunity to open standalone stores for luxury Italian ready-to-wear brands Eleventy and Corneliani.
So, what would I do if I led the MoE makeover? Firstly, I'd tap Australian fashion brands to fill a chunk of those 100 new stores. In terms of price, aesthetic and climate compatibility, the Aussies are all-round box tickers. I'd also like to see more swimwear options; Melissa Odabash recently celebrated its 25th anniversary with the brand's first UAE standalone store in Dubai Mall. How about Hunza G for MoE? Nailing a resale and rental concept would also encourage me to take exit 39 off Sheikh Zayed Road more frequently. While preloved and rental businesses proliferate online, an accessible in-real-life showroom would convert me from interested observer to active participant in the circular economy. The stats agree with me; analytics firm GlobalData says that the worldwide resale apparel market experienced its fourth consecutive year of double-digit growth in 2024 to reach $204.7 billion (Dh752 billion) last year, outperforming the traditional apparel market. The Middle East's resale apparel market is predicted to grow by 11.6 per cent in the five years to 2028, according to GlobalData, 'as the stigma associated with purchasing second-hand goods lessens and awareness of fashion's impact on the planet spreads', the data firm explains. Without Vinted, Depop and eBay active in the region, there is an opportunity for brick-and-mortar malls to bring to life the marketplace buzz of shopping second-hand, right across the pricing spectrum.
Shopping aside, the two main factors that keep me out of malls are a lack of natural daylight and the sensory overload of kids' arcades, which combined make me feel like I am in some kind of Vegas time warp. Happily, it looks like mall operators have cottoned onto this. MoE's makeover will include an outdoor food and drinks courtyard, open to the elements in the cooler months and filled with greenery. While I have already learned to avoid mall arcades and instead steer my children to the epic 12-metre climbing wall at MoE's GO Sport, we can now also drive north down Sheikh Zayed Road to City Centre Mirdiff and get physical at Activate. Billed as the world's first active gaming facility, including the TikTok sensation Mega Grid, Majid Al Futtaim-operated Activate combines the dopamine hits of an arcade with the heart-pumping physicality of a workout session.
Whether you get your endorphins from fashion finds, or from high-energy in-mall leisure, here's to the next 20 years of MoE.
