Peter Arbuckle

The retail scene throughout the region was still very much ‘souk’ based – although the traditional outdoor souk was beginning to move upmarket and indoors – such as at the Al Ghurair Centre in Deira.

Al Futtaim had acquired the Ace Hardware and IKEA brands and was developing a strategy to roll them out. They’d engaged Mark Norten of the Paris office of Larry Smith and Associates for advice. I was introduced to Al Futtaim by Mr. Norten and ultimately hired to assemble the parts and develop them into a shopping centre format.

Ace Hardware and IKEA, while excellent brands, didn’t have sufficient marketing strength to anchor a regional shopping centre. Working through Mark’s connections in France, we ultimately obtained a regional operating agreement with Continent. The marketing power of Continent (subsequently bought by Carrefour) - combined with IKEA and, to a lesser degree, Ace Hardware created the locomotion to drive a regional centre and they became the backbone of Deira City Centre which opened in 1995.

My colleague, Steve Sell, had joined me from Vancouver where both of us had an extensive experience with the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC). Believing that collaboration amongst shopping centre owners strengthens the entire industry, we reached out to John T. Riordan who was the President of ICSC, with the vision of establishing the Middle East Council of Shopping Centres. John was exceptionally enthusiastic and supportive of our initiative. Steve and I began to introduce other owners in Dubai to the concept. Having sown this seed, I returned to Canada in 1995 and the growth of MECSC was carried on by others.