Choithrams has announced a strategic price reset across approximately 10,000 essential products, marking one of the largest pricing recalibrations undertaken by a supermarket retailer in the UAE to date.

The move follows an extensive customer survey conducted in 2025, which gathered insights from nearly 8,000 shoppers. The feedback highlighted strong brand affinity and trust, alongside a clear call for greater everyday value. In response, Choithrams has focused the reset on essential categories spanning food and non-food items, including fresh and frozen products, reinforcing its positioning as a community-first neighbourhood retailer with a legacy spanning more than five decades.

“We surveyed nearly 8,000 customers, and the message was clear: they like us, they trust us, and they want even greater value. For 50 years we’ve been proud to be a neighbourhood supermarket. Customer-centricity is core to how we operate. We listen, we learn, and most importantly, we act to deliver greater value to the communities we serve,” said Mark Mortimer-Davies, CEO at Choithrams. “Staying true to that promise, we’re resetting the prices of our products across all stores and online. The first phase launches today, with more to follow in the upcoming months.”

The initiative will be rolled out in three phases during the first half of the year and will ultimately cover nearly one-third of Choithrams’ total product range. In its first phase alone, the retailer estimates that around Dhs13m will be returned to customers through lower prices, with a strong emphasis on high-frequency household essentials.

Phase one begins with the repricing of 3,500 products, including staple items such as rice, milk, coffee, tea, lentils and dairy. The company stressed that the initiative is not a short-term promotion but a fundamental shift in its long-term pricing strategy, aimed at strengthening value perception and customer loyalty across both physical stores and digital channels.

“We know that budgeting can be a challenge for many, particularly during the Holy Month of Ramadan. At Choithrams, we want to make purchasing essentials kinder on the pocket for our communities. Starting this new year, we’re putting the family at the heart of the weekly shop as never before. This Year of the Family, we’re inviting our customers and stakeholders to have a conversation about the importance of family, reconnecting with family, and most importantly, the role of businesses in supporting families,” said Dinesh Pagarani, director at Choithrams.

Pagarani added, “We want our customers to know what to expect at Choithrams. This reset will have essential items at consistently low prices, popular products priced in line with other leading retailers, and premium imported products that our customers know and love. Being a great neighbourhood supermarket is about value for money, variety, convenience, and quality you can trust. At Choithrams, we’re committed to being the whole package and strengthening our connection with the community.”

The pricing reset builds on Choithrams’ long-standing focus on quality, service and social responsibility. Anchored in the UAE’s Year of the Family and following the retailer’s Golden Jubilee milestone in 2024, the initiative reflects the brand’s continued investment in trust, affordability and community-led growth.

Dense fog across parts of Dubai and the wider UAE disrupted early-morning visibility on Tuesday, as humid overnight conditions set in across coastal and inland areas, according to the National Centre of Meteorology (NCM).

In its latest bulletin, the NCM said the country will experience generally fair to partly cloudy conditions through the rest of the week, with humidity increasing at night and during early mornings—creating favourable conditions for fog or mist, particularly in coastal and internal regions.

Low clouds are expected to develop eastward, while light to moderate winds will prevail, occasionally freshening during the day. Sea conditions are forecast to remain slight in both the Arabian Gulf and the Oman Sea.

Temperatures across coastal and inland areas are expected to range between 30°C and 32°C, while mountainous regions will see cooler conditions of 17°C to 22°C. Wind speeds are forecast at 10–20 km/h, with gusts reaching up to 30–35 km/h at times.

Looking ahead, the NCM said a gradual rise in temperatures is expected from Wednesday onwards, alongside continued humid nights. The probability of fog or mist formation will persist into mid-week, particularly over coastal areas and islands during the early morning hours.

Authorities typically advise motorists to exercise caution, reduce speed and adhere to official guidance during fog events, as visibility can drop sharply over short periods.

The current weather pattern is expected to remain broadly stable through Saturday, with fair to partly cloudy skies, light to moderate southeasterly to northeasterly winds, and continued humidity during nighttime and early morning hours.

Abu Dhabi’s Integrated Transport Centre (ITC) announced on Monday the expansion of its autonomous “Robotaxi” services to additional areas across the Emirate, part of a broader effort to strengthen its smart mobility network and advance sustainable transport objectives.

The announcement was made on the sidelines of the seventh Unmanned Systems Exhibition (UMEX) and the Simulation and Training Exhibition (SimTEX), which focus on autonomous and smart transport technologies.

Since its launch in 2021, the Robotaxi service has operated in key locations including Yas, Al Saadiyat, Al Reem, Al Maryah Islands, and Zayed International Airport.

Robotaxi expansion to cover these areas

Under the expansion, ITC said services will now cover high-activity, high-density areas such as Khalifa City, Masdar City, and Rabdan. New routes will also link Abu Dhabi Corniche with Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, providing residents and visitors with greater access to autonomous mobility options.

The service is operated commercially by WeRide and Uber in collaboration with local operator Tawasul Transport under approved permits.

ITC said the autonomous fleet will be expanded to meet rising demand, following a 150 per cent increase in trips during 2025, and vehicles have maintained a 99.9 per cent safety rate.

Working with the Smart and Autonomous Systems Council and development partners, ITC continues to upgrade monitoring and control systems, enhance next-generation connectivity, and reinforce operational safety for autonomous vehicles.

“The expansion reinforces Abu Dhabi’s commitment to investing in smart and autonomous mobility and supports the development of a sustainable, efficient transport system,” the ITC said in a statement.

The move aligns with Abu Dhabi’s vision for smart and autonomous mobility, aiming to enhance network efficiency, reduce carbon emissions, and improve quality of life across the Emirate, while positioning it as a global leader in innovation and advanced transport technologies.

Britain’s Prince William has arrived in Saudi Arabia for his first official visit to the Kingdom, underscoring the deepening political and economic ties between the UK and Saudi Arabia.

The Prince of Wales landed in Riyadh on Monday, where he was received at King Khalid International Airport by Prince Mohammed bin Abdulrahman, the Deputy Emir of Riyadh. Also present were Saudi Arabia’s Ambassador to the United Kingdom, Prince Abdullah bin Khalid bin Sultan, and the UK’s Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Stephen Charles Hitchen.

According to Kensington Palace, Prince William’s three-day visit is being carried out on behalf of the British government and aims to strengthen bilateral relations between London and Riyadh. The trip follows a 2025 visit by the UK’s finance minister, which London said resulted in trade and investment agreements worth £6.4bn ($8.7bn).

Late on Monday, Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince and Prime Minister, received Prince William in the Saudi capital. The meeting marked the official start of the visit, which runs through Wednesday, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.

As part of the programme, the two leaders toured Diriyah, widely regarded as the birthplace of the Saudi state. They posed for photographs in front of Salwa Palace, a historic seat of governance during the first Saudi state, and were briefed on the Diriyah Gate Development Authority’s master plan. Diriyah is home to the At-Turaif district, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The visit will also see Prince William engage with initiatives linked to Saudi Arabia’s economic transformation, cultural development and sustainability agenda. His programme includes meetings with young Saudis, discussions on urban development and environmental conservation, and visits to projects supporting women’s sports, e-sports and cultural cooperation.

Later in the week, the Prince of Wales is expected to travel to AlUla, the historic oasis city in northwestern Saudi Arabia. There, he will visit wildlife reserves, meet local communities and tour Prince of Wales House — a newly established UK cultural space designed to promote collaboration in arts, heritage and conservation.

The visit builds on longstanding Saudi-British relations spanning more than 80 years and follows the establishment of the Saudi–UK Strategic Partnership Council, which held its first meeting in London in 2018.

With the World Economic Forum 2026 now concluded, one message from Davos stands out: disruption is no longer a phase; it is the operating environment. On the sidelines of the forum, Omar Boulos, CEO for Middle East and Africa at Accenture, shared insights with Gulf Business on what business confidence really looks like in 2026, where leadership optimism diverges from workforce reality, and why AI is rapidly moving from hype to hard capability.

Drawing on Accenture’s latest Pulse of Change data and regional insights, Boulos shares how companies in the Middle East are navigating reinvention, talent pressures, and the challenge of turning technology investment into real value.

Your Pulse of Change data tracks how leaders feel about their business trajectory going into 2026. What’s the honest read — are leaders genuinely confident, or are they learning to operate in a constant state of disruption rather than expecting stability to return?

While leaders are confident about growth, as highlighted in Accenture’s latest Pulse of Change report, the confidence is increasingly about learning to perform in a constant state of disruption. In fact, 82 per cent of C-suite leaders expect an even higher level of change in 2026 than in 2025. Looking at the 2026 trajectory, what stands out is a maturing ability to lead through continual disruption.

In the Middle East, this sentiment is even more pronounced. Our regional research shows that 82 per cent of organisations have actually accelerated their reinvention efforts over the past year, a rate higher than many markets.

C-suite leaders are optimistic, but that optimism is now grounded in the reality that disruption is the operating environment. While 55 per cent of global leaders feel prepared for technological disruption (up from 49 per cent last year), only 44 per cent feel the same about geopolitical shifts, a critical nuance for our region.

Many CEOs say they are “ready for change”. Based on your findings, where is the biggest gap between perceived readiness and actual capability — technology, talent, operating models, or decision speed?

There is a disconnect between perceived readiness and actual capability. The gap is widening. While 82 per cent of leaders expect more change, there is a 24-percentage point gap between their optimism and employee readiness.

When it comes to talent, employees feel significantly less prepared than leaders. At Davos, we emphasised that the future is “Human in the Lead,” not just “Human in the Loop”.

The bottleneck is no longer the tech stack; it is the fact that fewer than one in 10 organisations are fundamentally redesigning job roles to support AI adoption. In the Middle East, where ambition is high, only 9 per cent of companies are currently progressing at scale, proving that the “readiness” often lacks the structural “reinvention” needed to win.

If the AI hype cycle cools or capital tightens, how many companies are truly committed to AI as a long-term capability rather than a short-term experiment? What does your data suggest would be cut first: pilots, infrastructure, or talent?

In our 2026 data, 46 per cent of leaders say they would actually increase AI investments even in the event of a market correction. AI has moved from ‘experiment’ to ‘enduring capability.’ Crucially, 78 per cent of leaders now see AI as more beneficial to revenue growth than cost reduction, up from 65 per cent in 2024.

The strategic imperative for CEOs is clear: if you must trim, start by rationalising fragmented pilots, not by hollowing out your data foundations.

In the Middle East, digital transformation spend is projected to hit $72bn this year, and pulling back on the “Digital Core” now would mean losing a seat at the table during the next 12 months of rapid scaling.

Pulse of Change looks at AI investment intentions, but value creation often lags spend. What separates companies seeing real returns from those still stuck in proof-of-concept mode?

Pulse of Change tells us intent is no longer the issue – nine in 10 leaders plan to increase AI investment – but the shift in 2026 is toward “Agentic AI”, AI that doesn’t just generate content but takes action.

What separates value-creators? They move from “Proof of Concept” to “Proof of Value”. They also fix foundations early. As we discussed at Davos, leader-led learning is the only way to ensure the enterprise understands how to move from task automation to end-to-end process redesign. In the Middle East, “Reinventors” who do this are seeing a 15-percentage point premium on revenue growth compared to their peers.

Accenture’s research mirrors leadership views with employee sentiment. Where are leaders misreading the workforce, particularly on reskilling versus external hiring, and what risks does this create heading into 2026?

Leaders are overestimating how ready their people feel. While 86 per cent of leaders say they are preparing their workforce for AI agents, only 24 per cent of organisations have actually embedded continuous learning.

Heading into 2026, the risk is a “resilience illusion.” AI is not the enemy of the workforce; the challenge is companies choosing to restructure without reskilling. In the Middle East, talent is cited as the #1 way the landscape has shifted, yet the “readiness gap” persists. Winners will be those who treat reskilling with the same capital rigour as a cloud migration.

Looking across sentiment, investment, and talent plans, what is the single strategic mistake companies are most likely to make over the next year, and what should leaders be doing differently right now?

A common strategic oversight would be investing in AI while ignoring the “Human in the Lead” philosophy. Leaders risk mistaking a “tech-heavy” roadmap for a “future-ready” one.

Leaders need to match their AI investment with investment in people and organisational design. Right now, they should be doing three things: First, move beyond pilots to scale “Agentic AI” in core domains; second, close the 24-percentage point gap in leader-employee perception through radical transparency; and third, treat the “Digital Core”— data and cloud — as a sovereign asset for regional competitiveness.