Macy's, Inc. today announced that Macy's and
Bloomingdale's stores plan
to open in
Abu Dhabi, United
Arab Emirates (
UAE) in 2018 as part of a strategic partnership
with
Al Tayer Group LLC, a leading
UAE-based company with diversified businesses.
This will be Macy's first international store location and the second for
Bloomingdale's.
The Macy's and
Bloomingdale's stores will anchor Al Maryah Central, a new
super-regional shopping destination on
Al Maryah Island
being developed by Gulf Related, a joint venture between
Related
Companies and
Gulf Capital. The 3.1-million-square-foot
mixed-use development will include retail, cafés and restaurants, extensive
entertainment options, a cinema, health club, luxury hotel and residential
towers.
The Macy's (205,000 square feet on four levels) and Bloomingdale's (230,000
square feet on four levels) stores will offer a merchandise assortment, ambience
and customer service similar to each brand's shopping experience in
the United States, while also
being sensitive to local preferences and customers. The stores will be operated
by
Al Tayer Group under license agreements with Macy's, Inc. Al
Tayer Group also opened and operates the highly successful
Bloomingdale's which opened in
Dubai in 2010.
"As a spectacular new world-class shopping destination, Al Maryah Central
provides an outstanding opportunity to introduce Macy's to customers who live
and work in the booming
UAE market, as well as to visitors who come from
around the world for events, business and holidays," said
Terry
Lundgren, Macy's, Inc. chairman and chief executive officer. "Macy's
and Bloomingdale's already are well known globally. They are destinations for
international tourists to
the
United States and play an important role in popular culture
domestically and globally.
"We are continuing to study various international markets and to better
understand how customers worldwide shop in stores, online and via mobile. While
macys.com and bloomingdales.com have been selling online in about 100 nations
since 2011, we are especially interested in the omnichannel dynamics of
worldwide markets, and the role that physical stores play in that equation.
While we continue to evaluate store development opportunities around the world,
we are committing now to take advantage of this unique opportunity in
Abu Dhabi with two partners
who we know very well,
Al Tayer Group and Gulf Related, with the
development of Al Maryah Central," Lundgren said.
"Bloomingdale's has been a standout success in
Dubai, and we look forward to expanding our
business into Abu Dhabi," said
Tony Spring, chairman and chief
executive officer of Bloomingdale's. "Customers in the
UAE have come to recognize
Bloomingdale's for the high quality of designers and luxury goods we sell in an
attentive high-service environment. We take great pride in making Bloomingdale's
like no other store in the world. Al
Tayer Group has been a
tremendous partner that shares Bloomingdale's high standards."
"We are delighted to extend our successful partnership with Macy's Inc., with
the launch of Macy's and Bloomingdale's in
Abu Dhabi. Having recorded almost five
successful years with Bloomingdale's-Dubai, we are confident that the offering
from Macy's will have an equally strong appeal in the
Middle East region. Both Macy's and
Bloomingdale's have entrenched themselves as market leaders in department store
retailing in the U.S., and we look forward to delivering the same unrivalled
shopping experience to customers in Abu Dhabi," said
Khalid Al
Tayer, CEO - Retail,
Al Tayer Group.
About Macy's, Inc.
Macy's, Inc., with corporate offices in
Cincinnati and
New York, is one of the nation's premier
retailers, with fiscal 2013 sales of
$27.931 billion. The company
operates about 840 stores in 45 states, the
District of Columbia,
Guam and
Puerto Rico under the names of Macy's and
Bloomingdale's, as well as the macys.com and bloomingdales.com websites. The
company also operates 13 Bloomingdale's Outlet stores. Bloomingdale's in
Dubai is operated
by
Al Tayer Group LLC under a license agreement.
About Al Tayer Group
Al
Tayer Group is a diversified regional business established in
1979 with its headquarters in
Dubai,
UAE. Since its inception, the Group has grown
rapidly and currently operates in 12 countries in the
Middle-East and beyond. It has
built leading operations in multiple sectors, including automotive, contracting,
distribution, retail, and services.
Al
Tayer Group represents over 600 global leading brands that span
from Ferrari, Ford, Land Rover and Jaguar, among others, in the automotive
sector to brands like ABB and Danzas in services.
In retail,
Al Tayer Group has firmly anchored its position as a
leader in the
Middle East
through the representation of major brands such as
Alexander
McQueen, Boucheron, Bottega Veneta, Coach, Dolce & Gabbana,
Emilio Pucci,
Giorgio Armani and
Jimmy
Choo, to name but a few. Al
Tayer Group is also responsible for
opening and operating the largest
Harvey Nichols outside the
United
Kingdom as well as the first Bloomingdale's stores outside
the United States.
Complementing its position in luxury retail, the Group's portfolio also includes
leading lifestyle brands such as Gap,
Banana Republic and
Crate
and Barrel. The Group also has Joint Ventures with Bulgari, Gucci,
Prada and
Saint
Laurent. The retail division represents over 35 of the world's most
renowned brands and operates over 200 stores in the region.
About Gulf Related
Gulf Related is a regional real estate development company focused on retail,
residential and high-end mixed-use real estate developments in the Middle East.
Gulf Related represents a joint-venture between
Gulf Capital, one of
the
Middle East's leading
alternative asset management firms, and
Related Companies, one of the
largest private real estate development and investment firms in
the United States. The Gulf
Related team leverages its core competencies from Related in real estate
planning, development and management; while
Gulf Capital brings
strong regional relationships, access to deal flow, and fund raising
capabilities. Gulf Related is focused on pursuing marquee large-scale mixed-use
real estate development opportunities in
Abu Dhabi and
Saudi Arabia.
All statements in this press release that are not statements of historical
fact are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the U.S. Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements are based upon the
current beliefs and expectations of Macy's management and are subject to
significant risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially from
those expressed in or implied by the forward-looking statements contained in
this release because of a variety of factors, including conditions to, or
changes in the timing of, proposed transactions, prevailing interest rates and
non-recurring charges, competitive pressures from specialty stores, general
merchandise stores, off-price and discount stores, manufacturers' outlets, the
Internet, mail-order catalogs and television shopping and general consumer
spending levels, including the impact of the availability and level of consumer
debt, the effect of weather and other factors identified in documents filed by
Macy's, Inc. with the
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
