Saudi to fine restaurants serving soft drinks

New legislation comes as the country tries to tackle a diabetes epidemic

Majid Al Futtaim Properties eyes Egypt, Oman and Saudi for hotel growth

The company currently has 12 operational hotels including 10 in Dubai

The Body Shop to launch e-commerce site in Dubai

The British company’s regional growth outperformed its global average in 2015

Dubai retail market hits $35bn, says report

Sales are expected to pass $52bn by 2020, according to the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry

Majid Al Futtaim plans $13m expansion of City Centre Qurum in Oman

The revamp will see the introduction of Centrepoint within the mall

Aldar awards Dhs 318m contract for expansion to Al Ain’s Al Jimi Mall

Works will include two new areas and a refurbishment of the existing mall space

mcdonald's

McDonald’s UAE opens sixth outlet at Dubai Airports in Concourse D

The 310 square-metre store features self-ordering kiosks

jewellery

Dubai’s pursuit of jewellery domination

Dubai is employing Italian sparkle to improve its jewellery credentials

Mobile transactions accounted for 36% of GCC online purchases in Q4 2015

Apple’s iOS made up 54 per cent of mobile sales in the region

Kuwait’s largest mixed-use waterfront project to open in Q4 2017

The Al Kout development will include a $235m mall

Majid Al Futtaim announces plans for Saudi Arabia’s largest mall

The Mall of Saudi will feature an indoor ski slope

Philip Stein opens first GCC boutique at Dubai’s Burj Al Arab

Swiss manufacturer says a second boutique will follow

Emaar Malls profit up 23% but misses expectations

Analysts suggested the unit was impacted by low oil prices

Dubai Shopping Festival: 45% of UAE residents overspent by Dhs 1,000

Survey finds sales tempt shoppers into exceeding budget

Majid Al Futtaim sees revenue, EBITDA jump

UAE-based group says it will open new malls in Dubai and Egypt this year

colm mcgloughlin

Predictions 2016: Dubai Duty Free executive vice chairman Colm McLoughlin

The difficulties that the industry faced in 2015 will remain for the most part in 2016, writes McLoughlin

Predictions 2016: Group GM of Easa Saleh Al Gurg Group Abdulla Al Gurg

Regional retailers must keep up with the changing times, urges Abdulla Al Gurg

Filipino fast food chain Jollibee to open 100 stores across the GCC by 2020

The company’s Dubai Mall outlet is its most financially successful restaurant worldwide

Predictions 2016: Lulu Group chairman and MD Yusuffali M.A.

The retailer has aggressive expansion plans for the GCC this year, confirms Yusuffali

Retailer Lulu to invest $186m in Saudi expansion

UAE group’s chairman Yusuffali MA plans to open new hypermarkets across the kingdom by 2017

Wyndham to open four new Ramada hotels in the Middle East

Wyndham’s Ramada Resort Dead Sea and Ramada Jeddah Corniche are already open while its two properties in Bahrain are set to open on March 31, 2016.

Dubai’s Damac offers property buyers Lamborghini, BMW cars this DSF

The developer is giving away free luxury cars to new buyers of select properties as part of its Dubai Shopping Festival promotion

What to expect from Dubai Shopping Festival 2016

Retail slowdown could mean bigger discounts with ‘part-sale’ already starting at 30 per cent

Dates announced for Dubai Shopping Festival 2016

DSF 2016 will run under the tagline ‘Unwrap The Exceptional’

Five minutes with… Simon Hathaway, global head of Retail at Cheil

Retailers have to understand their customers better and keep pace with the latest technologies to survive, says Hathaway

UAE retailer Lulu to invest over $383m in Egypt, plans 10 new stores

The company intends to employ 10,000 Egyptians as it opens 10 new hypermarkets in the next two years

Dubai Festival City Mall to get ‘mega media’ light show

Laservision project costing Dhs 1.6bn has been earmarked for late 2016

Middle East’s automotive industry slows, but motor companies remain optimistic

Weak global economy and low oil prices have hit car sales in the region

Luxury fashion brands in Dubai hit by drop in Russian, Chinese spending

Tourist numbers have fallen from Russia and China due to an economic slowdown in both the countries

JadoPado receives $4m funding from Beco Capital, to introduce COD option

The e-commerce firm expects to have up to 20,000 vendors selling 200,000 products on its platform over the next 18 months