Al-Futtaim Group has announced the launch of the new expansion of Cairo Festival City Mall in New Cairo, dubbed “Festival Avenue” as part of its expansion plan in Egypt. The expansion marked the celebration of the six-year anniversary of Cairo Festival City Mall. The new expansion, with investment exceeding EGP 2bn, will add a gross leasable area of 22,000 sqm to the existing mall, making it the largest mall in Egypt. Timothy Earnest, Group Director – Al-Futtaim Malls said that the new expansion Festival Avenue, offers an exceptional and unique experience for customers by presenting a new retail concept in Egypt of international standards. Since its opening in 2013 and until 2019, the mall has managed to reach the highest employment rate, providing about 5,000 direct job opportunities for Egyptians, and 15,000 indirect opportunities. Earnest added that Al-Futtaim Group aims to achieve strategic goals by enhancing Cairo Festival City Mall and its contribution to the development of the retail sector in Egypt. The most important of which is the increase in the field of shopping tourism that witnesses an increasing boom in the world. Accordingly, Cairo Festival City Mall seeks to enhance the cooperation with the tourism sector, tourism companies, and airline operators to coordinate attractive programs for tourists with direct presence in Festival Avenue. Cairo Festival City Mall continues to participate in global retail platforms through international conferences such as RECON and MAPIC, he noted. “2020 will see the launch of some distinguished services in line with the launch of the new brands in Festival Avenue, including Gift Card programs and luxurious concierge services, in addition to the launch of a mobile application, to combine traditional retail and modern technology,” he elaborated. Cairo Festival City Mall's General Manager Hayssam Hajjar stated, "Our plans will address the demand from retail brands wanting to be based at the mall, ranked the leading shopping destination in Egypt for the third year in a row, according to TripAdvisor. The mall continues to deliver unique experiences for our retailers and customers, who accounted for 23 million visitors in 2019 alone." "The new expansion will be seamlessly integrated with the current mall, including easy navigation, airy corridors, open sightlines, and plenty of natural sunlight through a state-of-the-art 5,300sqm skylight," he explained. “The new expansion will add 80 new stores, including numerous international brands and 15 food and beverage outlets. With the new Festival Avenue, Al-Futtaim Group will achieve added value to the existing mall,” Hajjar said. Festival Avenue will evolve the scope of the existing mall with a variety of indoor and outdoor alfresco dining options offering local and international cuisines, with an international 1,600 sqm Food Hall, and over 1,000 additional parking spaces.
