Mall of the Emirates, a leading shopping resort and a member of the Dubai-based Majid Al Futtaim (MAF) Group, said its sales soared to a whopping Dh7.7 billion ($2.1 billion) last year.

Shopping promotions and exciting events at the Mall of the Emirates during Dubai Summer Surprises (DSS) have been instrumental in attracting visitors to the mall during summer, and this has reflected positively on retail sales and the overall visitor turnout, said a top mall official.

Fuad Mansour Sharaf, vice president of Mall of the Emirates, pointed out that shopping resort had logged tremendous growth rates since its launch in 2006.

'In 2008, we achieved Dh7.7 billion worth of sales an indication of substantial evidence of the pioneering retail position now boasted by the Mall,' he noted.

“In DSS 2009, we expect the sales to be almost the same of 2008, a year which witnessed a 30 per cent increase in sales over the previous year 2007. A huge footfall of 6 million visitors came to the Mall during the DSS 2008 and we expect the same number during this edition.”

He also outlined the mall’s plans for DSS and stressed that DSS was key to the growth of retail business during the summer.

“Most of the summer activities in the emirate are organized in malls during the summer and therefore, shopping malls are more than keen to have a strong presence in the summer extravaganza. For us at MAF, the event is of a paramount importance to our business and we are ensuring to make the best use of it.”

Mall of the Emirates was the venue for the opening ceremony of DSS 2009 and witnessed a massive response with over 100,000 mall-goers on the day.

Fuad said that the selection of the mall for an important event such as the opening was enough indication of the confidence that DSS officials had in the mall’s ability to host such an event.

Elaborating on the promotions being organized this DSS at the Mall, Fuad said, 'This year, Mall of the Emirates and Deira City Centre are coming together for the first time ever in a joint promotion to give visitors the chance to win prizes worth Dh2 million this summer.'

He also threw light on the nationalities of the visitors at the mall. 'Usually tourists coming from the GCC countries to Dubai during the DSS are the largest in number in comparison with other nationalities.'

'But during the first days of this edition we’ve noticed that a large chunk of those visiting the Mall are locals and expatriates living in the country along with a reasonable number of GCC nationals and Europeans.'

'We expect an increase in the footfall over the coming period, especially among those coming from Saudi Arabia,' Faud added.

According to him, the mall was embarking on an ambitious expansion project under which up to 40 new stores offering international assortments of global brands would be ready by the fourth quarter of 2010.

This move, he added, would bring the number of operating stores at the Mall to 511, and effectively provide 233,000 square metres of Gross Leasable Area for retailers and other service providers.-TradeArabia News Service