City of Arabia, the spectacular $5 billion retail, residential, commercial and entertainment destination taking shape in Dubai, announced on Monday that phase one of its huge Mall of Arabia component is now 89 percent contracted and reserved. Anchoring the four million square feet gross leasable area (GLA) spread across the twin level first phase will be many of the leading brand names managed by two of the Middle East's biggest retail organizations, Landmark Group and Azadea Group. The announcement was made by Ilyas & Mustafa Galadari Group, owners of City of Arabia, ahead of the RLI Global Opportunities Conference: Embracing Global Retail, taking place on Wednesday and Thursday at Wembley Stadium, London. City of Arabia is the platinum sponsor of the retail industry event which will provide Mall of Arabia with valuable exposure to retail industry leaders and decision-makers. With a six million square feet second phase giving it a total GLA of 10 million square feet, it will be one of the world's largest malls and a unique retail resort, with more than 1,400 diverse retail outlets, a rooftop hotel, and a unique theme park and edutainment center, “Restless Planet,” featuring the world's largest collection of animatronic dinosaurs. Between them, Landmark Group and Azadea Group have signed up for a total of more than 800,000 square feet of retail space in Mall of Arabia's first phase. Currently operating over 600 stores across the Middle East and India, Landmark Group has signed a lease agreement for 500,000 square feet that will feature retail brands like Centrepoint, Home Centre, as well as a range of line shops including name like kappa, Reiss, Bata, Lee Cooper, Koton, aftershock, New look, Ecco, Max, Emax, Pablosky, Theme, Lewre, Valenica, Shelleys and Orchestra. Landmark Group also has plans to develop a family entertainment centre concept at Mall of Arabia. Azadea Group, which operates over 250 stores across the Middle East and plans over 500 additional shops through the next three years, has taken in excess of 300,000 square feet. Set to open 95 new stores in 2008 alone, the group has an expanding portfolio of high profile brands, including Piazza Italia, Sunglass Hut, Salsa Jeans, Cool Cat, Virgin Megastore, Massimo Dutti, Zara, and Zara Home. In announcing the deals, the Mall of Arabia management said with the Restless Planet theme park, earth science museum, and planetarium serving as a star attraction, its strategic targeted leasing campaign, added to the mall's unique location and its customer experience proposition, will help drive tenant occupancy. “We're right on track,” said Myra Searle, senior vice-president for Retail, Mall of Arabia. __
