(MENAFN - Khaleej Times) The Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry has recently launched the Retail Business Group, which becomes the 25th such sector-specific group to operate under its umbrella.
Over 30 members of the Retail Business Group elected Mohi-Din Binhendi as chairman, Khalid Al Tayer as its senior vice-chairman, Adel Al Zarouni the second vice-chairman, Christophe Nicaise as secretary-general, and Mansour Hajjar as treasurer.
Dubai Chamber Director-General Hamad Buamim welcomed the newly-formed Retail Business Group, stating that the coming on board of the group is in direct response to the requests of representatives of the retail sector in the emirate to work jointly towards the enhancement of their particular sector and also to further contribute to the economic development of the emirate.
He said the forming of the Retail Business Group comes as part of Dubai Chamber's efforts in enhancing communication among various business groups and government authorities. On its part, the Dubai Chamber will provide all the support to the new group for fulfilling its role in this particular sector in Dubai.
Buamim added: "Dubai's retail sector is likely to grow by 5.5 per cent this year. The key factors behind the optimistic forecast are attributed to the strong underlying economic growth, increasing household consumption and the inflows of tourists to the emirate. With its steady rise, the retail sector has emerged as one of the most important economic sectors associated with the growth of modern Dubai."
"Dubai is among the nine main shopping destinations of the world including New York, London, Paris, Milan, Singapore, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Shanghai. The emirate has earned this position due to the unconditional support of its leaders and the hard work of the business community," Binhendi said.
"The Retail Business Group has the agenda to assist Dubai retailers with the best of support from all government, semi-government, mall managements and international retailing practices and regulations which will further enhance the positioning of Dubai as one of the top-most global shopping destinations in the world," he added.
According to the CB Richard Ellis Global Business Report 2010, Dubai ranked as the second top-most international retail city after London, hosting 55 per cent of major global retailers while spending in Dubai's shopping malls in 2009 alone was roughly estimated around 7.6 billion, while Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi shopping malls spending stood at 6 billion and 1.9 billion respectively.
The same study stated that per capita retail space in Dubai is four times higher than that of the US and by the end of the decade, Dubai will have 16 times more sales floor space in malls than the average for the European Union countries.
