Majid Al Futtaim is synonymous with retail in the UAE.
Starting with his first mall in 1995, Mr Futtaim brought the western-style consumer experience to the Arabian Gulf, opening the Mall of the Emirates a decade later, at the height of the Gulf region’s economic boom.
ME Retai News takes a look back at his extraordinary life.
Born in 1934 into a business-oriented family, Emirati businessman Majid Al Futtaim launched a company under his own name, called Majid Al Futtaim Holding.
He founded the business in 1992, with a focus on retail.
Three years later, in 1995, the Majid Al Futtaim group signed an exclusive partnership with French multinational retail and wholesaling corporation Carrefour. The deal would see Carrefour supermarkets run by the MAF group in the region and housed in MAF City Centre shopping malls.
A new concept for the Mena consumer
That same year, MAF launched its first City Centre in Deira, home to the UAE’s first Carrefour and children’s entertainment zone, Magic Planet.
The Deira City Centre was MAF’s flagship mall. It had international brands, dining outlets, and entertainment facilities. It was a major success, and established Majid Al Futtaim as a leader in the retail industry in the Middle East. Currently, more than 22 million people visit the mall each year.
This also ushered in a change to how retail was perceived. Shopping was now a family activity.
In the UAE, the company operates Mall of the Emirates, apart from eight City Centres. In other emirates, the group runs smaller malls called My City Centre. In other neighbourhoods, the company also runs Matajers, which house a small Carrefour and dining options. The ‘My City Centre’ and ‘Matajer’ are part of MAF’s neighbourhood retail concepts which first came to Sharjah in 2017.
Including its overseas malls, Majid Al Futtaim Holding boasts one million square metres as gross leasable area, with more than 3,000 retailers. These 29 malls together receive more than 178 million annual visitors.
Apart from the Mall of the Emirates and the Deira City Centre, MAF also runs malls like the Mirdif City Centre and Mercato Shopping Mall in Dubai, along with two City Centres in Sharjah.
A diversified portfolio
Over the years, MAF has established itself not only as a retail giant, but also as an entertainment hub. In 2000, MAF launched Vox Cinemas, which was the UAE’s first multiplex cinema.
But MAF did not stop there. The company has continued to grow and expand, and by the early 2000s had already gone international. In 2001, it opened its first mall in Egypt, and in the following year, it launched in Oman.
In 2005, MAF opened another shopping centre that changed indoor entertainment for UAE residents and tourists. The Mall of the Emirates became home to Ski Dubai, which features the world’s largest indoor ski slope.
There is also Dreamscape, a virtual reality theme park.
Boasting 545 stores and 96 restaurants and cafes, Mall of the Emirates receives an estimated 28 million visitors each year.
There are 58 cinema complexes that the Majid Al Futtaim group owns, including 23 in the UAE, 13 in Oman, three in Egypt, two each in Bahrain and Qatar, and one in Lebanon. MAF also runs the children’s play area Magic Planet, which is now distributed in 32 locations across nine countries.
Over the years, the Majid Al Futtaim group has evolved into a conglomerate with a diversified portfolio.
Apart from managing malls and the various entertainment options they house, MAF also manages hotels, and runs a project management business. It also has dealings with the energy and facilities management industry.
With regards to hotels, MAF has 13 in its portfolio. The Aloft Dubai Creek, the Kempenski and the Hilton Garden Inn at Mall of the Emirates and three ibis hotels are just some of the hotels it manages. Branches of the Novotel, Sheraton, Pullman, The Westin and Le Meridian are also run in association with MAF.
The company’s project management business caters to all of MAF’s operations, assisting with employments and placements apart from driving new projects.
Within the energy and facilities management sector, the Majid Al Futtaim group has created a joint venture with Veolia, which specialises in designing and providing water, waste, and energy management solutions. The new company formed by the joint venture is called Enova. It creates custom energy management solutions to help business-to-business customers make savings towards energy costs across the Middle East.
In 2018, the group acquired Beam Portal, a Dubai-based mobile payments provider. Through its association with MAF, Beam Portal has been able to work with clients like Carrefour, Aldo and Calvin Klein.
Majid Al Futtaim today
Mr Futtaim died on December 17, 2021. He was 87.
He was listed as the UAE’s richest businessman by Forbes Middle East in 2013, with a fortune estimated at US$3.6 billion. At the time, he was also the seventh-richest Arab.
After his death, Bloomberg estimated his net worth to be closer to $6.1 billion.
Today, the company is run by his son, Tariq Al Futtaim, who serves on the board of Majid Al Futtaim Holding.
