House of Fraser to move into Abu Dhabi

Two well know UK shopping names are heading to Abu Dhabi as House of Fraser and Waitrose target the capital.

Pedestrians walk past the Oxford Street House of Fraser shop, in London U.K. Tuesday, March 21, 2006. Photographer: Suzanne Plunkett/Bloomberg News

House of Fraser and Waitrose are set to join the growing number of international retail brands heading for the capital.

The department store chain House of Fraser will open its first Abu Dhabi store in the third quarter of next year in the Emporium at Central Market, a mall being built by the developer Aldar Properties.

Waitrose, which already has a supermarket in Dubai's Marina Mall, will open a small outlet in the Al Zeina section of the Al Raha Beach development in the second half of this year, an Aldar executive has said.

Fred Douglas, the director of retail leasing at the developer, said House of Fraser's move to Abu Dhabi underpinned the confidence retailers have in the region.

Abu Dhabi is increasingly attracting top global brands as retail space rapidly develops.

The news of the two UK retail brands expanding to Abu Dhabi comes only a week after it was reported that Marks & Spencer will expand in the capital by opening in Marina Mall.

Mr Douglas said the Emporium and Al Zeina were only two of the projects the company was focusing on this year.

There was also Yas Mall, which was set to be completed by the third or fourth quarter of 2013.

"Retail is very important. It's playing a significant role for Aldar and it will continue to play a great role in the future," Mr Douglas said.

Traditionally a one-stop shop for other brands in the UK, analysts say House of Fraser will have to provide a unique offering in the UAE, where malls often take the role of department stores.

"The question is, what are House of Fraser offering in beauty and fashion, and how quickly they can take market share," said Richard Adams, a retail analyst at Datamonitor in Dubai.

"The UK expat community is large in the UAE but it's not as big as [that from] the Indian subcontinent or other expats. There's plenty of brand value but they will have to do their homework to see what their mix and assortment will look like."

Retailers in Abu Dhabi will also have to cope with an increasingly competitive market, as about 200,000 square metres of retail space comes available this year alone.

Mushrif Mall in the middle of Abu Dhabi island, Bawabat Al Sharq Mall in Baniyas and 9712 BMC near Musaffah are all due to be completed this year.

"There are a number of projects mooted and I have a sense that not all of the projects will deliver, which would be a good thing for Abu Dhabi because it will spread out the supply of space," Mr Douglas said.

"If all projects go ahead, there could be an oversupply in the immediate future compared to demand."

Dubai has about 1.5 sq metres of retail space per head, compared with only 0.5 sq metres in Abu Dhabi, Mr Douglas said.

House of Fraser will be the anchor store for Emporium at Central Market, which will primarily be a fashion centre, but also home to brands such as Spinneys and Magrudy's.

Mr Douglas said Al Zeina would be a small up-market furniture and homeware retail centre, with 18 individual outlets, including a bank, a pharmacy and coffee shops.