Apple set to open stores in Middle East

The UAE MBLM Brand Intimacy 2015 Report, which has been released for the first time, ranked Apple as the most intimate brand in the UAE, followed by Lexus and Samsung placing second and third, respectively.

The tech giant on Thursday officially announed that it will finally open not one, but two Apple Stores in the UAE, at Dubai’s Mall of the Emirates and Abu Dhabi’s Yas Mall on Thursday, October 29.

The now company-operated store employs 18, who reflect the diversity of the United Arab Emirates.

The new Apple Store in Dubai will be located at the Mall of the Emirates, and will celebrate its grand opening at 4:00 PM local time, while the Abu Dhabi store will be located inside Yas Mall and hold its grand opening three hours later at 7:00 PM local time.

One of the upcoming two stores is already reputed to be the biggest Apple Store on the planet. The location of 7-Eleven’s first store in the Middle East is Bay Square, near downtown Dubai and the world’s tallest building, Burj Khalifa Tower.

“I do not see the store itself increasing Apple’s sales or share in a significant way, however, combined with future good product launches that Apple is renowned to do, it will definitely help build the brand image further”, she added.

The mall had announced an exhaustive line-up of chic stores that opened on the day on Level 2 of the mall.

The company has unveiled a barricade around the outside of the two stores, which is covered in Arabic calligraphy.

Since the visit of Apple chief executive Tim Cook to the UAE in February a year ago, rumours of a new Apple store began doing the rounds.

We had asked Michael Cesarz, the CEO of Shopping Malls at Majid Al Futtaim Properties, about why Apple Store wasn’t part of the line-up, but he said he “will not comment because it leads to speculation”.