New mall in Sur to create 3,500 jobs

My City Centre, Oman’s first community mall, which was thrown open in Sur, will generate 3,500 jobs.

“We invested OMR15 million in this mall and we expect it to generate nearly 3,500 jobs in just Sur. Of these, 1,500 would be direct and the rest would be indirect jobs,” Ghaith Shocair, CEO of Majid Al Futtaim shopping malls, said.

In Oman, the group supports a total of 42,000 jobs. “We hope most of those jobs will be filled by Omanis,” he said.

This unique project is among three new projects in the pipeline. “We have two new projects in very active construction phases: City Centre Sohar, which is larger than this one, and the Mall of Oman. While City Centre Sohar is expected to be completed within the next 12 to 18 months, Mall of Oman will take longer, given its size and offerings,” he said.

Among the various hi-tech attractive features that will be offered at the Mall of Oman include a ski slope.

“We will have a ski slope, an updated version of the one at MOE. Mall of Oman will have the latest thinking in leisure and entertainment,” he revealed.

E-commerce sector

According to Shocair, other shopping malls are a bigger competition than the gradually burgeoning e-commerce sector. “In Oman, it’s very much a bricks and mortar business. But even in markets where e-commerce has a significant slice of the market, consumers still prefer to visit shopping malls,” he explained, adding that most customers visit malls for their holistic experience and not just to shop, especially in this region.

“The e-commerce channel is in a nascent stage. It is growing significantly in the region but only in certain categories,” Shocair added.

All Majid Al Futtaim malls are focussing heavily on digitisation to facilitate a more convenient and comfortable experience and to have a competitive edge.

“We have been focussing on digitisation, whether it is in the consumer journey, operations or marketing.

“Digitisation goes all the way behind to parking and the whole area of data analytics, in which we are heavily invested.

“You will see news apps and websites coming up and you will also see services for consumers to interface digitally with regards to shopping,” he said.

Commenting on My City Centre, Shocair said: “My City Centre is a brand we have for a particular type of product. It is a neighbourhood shopping centre. It is very unique in terms of its offering

and size.”