Fashioning new luxuries

In recent years, the retail market has transformed economies in the Middle East, attracting a plethora of tourists to its malls in search of luxury while providing employment for its citizens.

Dubai is perhaps the best known of all the emirates for its selection of malls and high-end services – and Singapore is keen to capitalise on that success.

Robinsons, one of Singapore’s leading retail brands, is set to expand with a department store in the Dubai Festival City Mall by Spring 2017. Owned by leading Middle East conglomerate Al-Futtaim Group, Robinsons' expansion signals a diversification into the affordable fashion market - although much of the Robinsons brand is considered luxurious.

Dubai Festival City Mall is one of the region’s leading retail outlets. The area will offer around 500 shops, parking for 7,000 cars and services that range from golf clubs, to schools, to hypermarkets.

Combining contemporary western styles with more traditional Middle Eastern colours and fabrics, Robinsons aims to establish itself as a leading player in the Dubai retail arena. Its parent company, Robinson & Co. Ltd,which Robinsons, John Little and Marks & Spencer franchises all retail under, has so far expanded from Singapore into Malaysia.

Thierry Prevost, managing director of fashion and department store, Al-Futtaim Retail says, “The Robinsons department store in Dubai Festival City Mall will offer customers exclusive fashion brands across categories for women, men, kids, beauty, home and lifestyle, food and beverages in addition to unique services.”

“The store will redefine fashion retail, with unique, innovative and interactive concepts, exclusive product offerings, innovative interior design and intuitive visual merchandising. We are very excited about the future of Robinsons in the Middle-East and look forward to making further announcements soon.”

The expansion of Robinsons coincides with the opening of a franchise of UK-based department store John Lewis, also planned for the Dubai Festival City retail centre. A partner company to grocery retailer Waitrose, its luxury homeware products and clothing ranges will be on offer to shoppers searching for a quintessentially British experience.