Dubai Festival Centre, a popular retail precinct of Al-Futtaim Group Real Estate’s Dubai Festival City, said 20 new outlets had opened during the last quarter of 2009 at the facility.

The new outlets include specialty restaurants (including Cafe Ceramique, Wafi Gourmet, Cafe Nero, Royal Orchid); fashion and sports brands such as BHS, The Ferrari Store and Naracamicie and jewellers Kanwar Classic and Eternal Jewels besides reputed luggage brands MMI and Nicoli.

The global retailers had made the Festival Centre as their first stop in Mideast expansion occupying a total floor space of 70,000sq ft of GLA (Gross Leasable Area), said an Al Futtaim official.

The opening further reiterates the strong role Festival Centre continues to play in Dubai’s retail space, said Tom Miles, director of Shopping Centres, AFGRE.

'We are delighted to have outdone ourselves. Despite the global economic slowdown, retailers have continued not just to internationalise, but to globalise and I’m happy to report that Festival Centre has become core to expansion activity by globally renowned retailers,' Miles pointed out.

'With location, leisure, access and value advantage, Festival Centre has always had an edge in the local retail market which has resulted in a dramatic increase in visitor profile and high value footfalls. I’m sure we will continue 2010 in the same breath of success,' he added.

'Eight specialty restaurants including Cafe Ceramique, Wafi Gourmet, Cafe Nero, Royal Orchid, Mamma Oliva, Crème De La Creme, More Cafe and Auntie Anne’s (food court) have begun operations adding considerable flavour to Festival Centre’s extensive gastronomical offerings.'

'Among the new fashion, sports and leisure brands doing well since they opened last month are BHS, The Ferrari Store, Naracamicie, Hamac, Selsal, Yours and Enrico Marinelli,' Miles pointed out.

'Two gold jewellery retailers – Kanwar Classic and Eternal Jewels – have also opened shop in the Gold Market section. Also beginning operations last month were MMI and Nicoli, the internationally renowned luggage brand,' he added.

Festival Centre is a 2,060,000 sq ft GLA retail precinct with over 600 shops including over 25 international flagship stores. It hosts the SkyWalk Food Express, Fitness First, Festival Cinemas, Bowling City, Dubai Gold Marketplace and the newly opened dining venue - Festival Marina Pavilion.

The distinctive shopping, dining and entertainment experiences have also helped Festival Centre become a standard fixture for showcasing excellence during signature events including Dubai Shopping Festival, Eid in Dubai and Dubai Summer Surprises.-TradeArabia News Service