I recently had the good fortune to travel to Dubai. I can safely say that from Detroit Michigan it
is a long way to go! Even though it is a
long way to travel, I found it was well worth the trip! As far as retail goes, it’s all there. I had
several reasons for visiting Dubai, one of the many purposes of the trip was to
experience the retail landscape in Dubai.
I found everything from value
retailers to all (and I mean all) of the luxury brands. The malls are huge! Some with novelty attractions that are well known, but the overall
the shopping and dining options are some of the best. I saw many of the usual suspects when
it comes to brands but there was one concept store that really caught my
attention. Level - Shoe District.
Level - Shoe District is a large format shop with many smaller shops
inside. All focused on shoes! Absolute Heaven! The shop is categorized into men’s and
women’s shoes. Many brands such as Louis
Vuitton, Dior and Gucci have their own shops within the overall space and yet
there is room for a few shops that are multi-brand. Overall the shop behaves much the way a
department store does but for shoes only. It’s not unlike a department store
but only for shoes. The branded shops
are what you would expect from each of the brands for example the Gucci shop
looks, feels and is serviced much the way any
Gucci shop is. The multi-brand areas are in no way diminished in comparison to
their branded counter parts. The spaces
feel current and intriguing. What I
liked most about the experience is the sense of discovery you feel as you
explore the store. As a shopper there is
the feeling that there is just a little bit more around the corner, across the
room etc. As I explored the store I
could not help but think, that this is such an obvious evolution why hasn’t
anyone done it before. I think we may see the evolution of this innovation in the near future. As a shoe lover
it was definitely a fun experience!
Over the next week or so I plan to post more about my trip and the retail I experienced.
Julie Dugas
Principal | Partner