DUBAI – The Dubai Festivals and Retail Establishment (DFRE), an agency of the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) and the organizers of Dubai Shopping Festival, announced recently that the main shopping malls in Dubai will be extending mall timings with effect from Jan. 16 until the end of DSF on Feb. 2. The leading malls who will be implementing this initiative are The Dubai Mall, Mall of the Emirates, Deira City Centre, Mirdif City Centre and Dubai Festival City Mall. The new timings will mark a departure from their regular mall timings from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. While retail outlets at the Dubai Mall will be open from 10am to 2am and food outlets from 10am to 3am throughout the week from 16 January – 2 February, the Mall of the Emirates, Deira City Centre, Mirdif City Centre and Dubai Festival City Mall will extend the timings of their retail outlets from 10am to 1am during the weekdays and from 10am to 2am on weekends during the same period. Food outlets at these four malls will be open from 10am to 2am during weekdays and 10am to 3am on weekends. The initiative to extend mall hours is aimed at further enhancing the festive ambience at the malls which have been attracting large numbers of shoppers since the start of the 19th edition of DSF on 2 January through shopping promotions, offers and entertainment activities for the whole family. The new timings will offer mall shoppers additional time to browse through and buy from an extensive selection of the world's best brands and pick up discounts of up to 75 percent on a wide range of merchandise, in addition to allowing them to enjoy the various entertainment offerings happening within the mall itself. The move also comes in anticipation of an increase in visitors to Dubai from neighboring countries over the next few weeks, especially due to the mid-term school holidays that have resulted in many families planning a trip to Dubai during DSF. Laila Mohd Suhail, DFRE CEO, said: “We always look for ways to enhance the shopping experience for our DSF visitors. With shopping malls in Dubai becoming more of standalone destination rather than just a shopping Centre, we are sure that extending mall hours till the wee hours of the day allows shoppers more time to shop and have fun, and at the same time enhances retail sales across the participating shopping malls”. The extended mall hours will be yet another boost to the retail sector, which has been enjoying high sales every year during DSF. In fact, in 2012, DSF attracted 4.3 million visitors to the city who spent a total of AED14.7 billion. Of this, spend on shopping alone accounted for AED 8.9 billion. As shopping is one of the key elements of DSF, the festival has returned to its retail roots this year with a renewed focus on shopping with the new theme “Shop at your Best” aimed at offering residents and visitors from around the world unique shopping experiences at 70 malls and over 6,000 retail outlets across Dubai. — SG
