Dubai, United Arab Emirates, June 16, 2022: City Centre Al Zahia, owned and operated by Majid Al Futtaim, invited nine home-grown businesses and SMEs to take a seat at its boardroom table this week as part of the ‘Big City Centre Vote’. Hosted by Fuad Sharaf, Managing Director, UAE Shopping Malls of Majid Al Futtaim Properties, the session focused on ways City Centre malls can further accelerate the growth of local businesses in the UAE and support entrepreneurial ambitions. Those in attendance at Sharjah’s newest lifestyle and retail experience included the founders behind ready-to-wear label, Maitha Al Ansari; luxury fashion brand, Wafa Balaswad; concept store, House of 45; roller skating concept, RollDXB; boutique wellness space, Barakah Studio; family favourite, Funbox as well as leading F&B outlets including 71 Steak & Grill; Mara Lounge Restaurant and Aryad Café.
Here are the highlights from the ‘Big City Centre Vote’ at City Centre Al Zahia.
Fuad Sharaf, Managing Director, UAE Shopping Malls, Majid Al Futtaim Properties alongside Alia Al Bann of RollDXB.
Bashayer Al Obadli of Barakah Wellness studio and Dr. Fadila Sharif of Fun Box
Saif Al Saif Al Shamsi of Aryad Café and Ismail Safar of Mara Restaurant alongside Fuad Sharaf.
City Centre Al Zahia also teamed up with community group, Real Mums UAE to invite their members to participate in the ‘Big City Centre Vote’ during a separate session. Held over an intimate breakfast, many mothers cited wanting to use the mall as a space to learn and to play, while others would like to scenery experiences for those with determination, earlier store opening times, enhanced family parking and increased visibility on promotions across the mall. 
UAE Moms members took a seat at the boardroom table to discuss their thoughts, aspirations, and ideas through the community-centric voting platform. This included enhancing the student experience, showing a greater affinity toward casual dining, and outdoor options and more family-orientated experiences and children-dedicated spaces in the mall.
For more information on how to vote, visit citycentrebigvote.com.
About Majid Al Futtaim
Founded in 1992, Majid Al Futtaim is the leading shopping mall, communities, retail and leisure pioneer across the Middle East, Africa and Asia.
A remarkable business success story, Majid Al Futtaim started from one man’s vision to transform the face of shopping, entertainment and leisure to ‘create great moments for everyone, every day’. It has since grown into one of the United Arab Emirates’ most respected and successful businesses spanning 17 international markets, employing more than 43,000 people, and obtaining the highest credit rating (BBB) among privately held corporates in the region.
Majid Al Futtaim owns and operates 29 shopping malls, 13 hotels and four mixed-use communities, with further developments underway in the region. The shopping malls portfolio includes Mall of the Emirates, Mall of Egypt, Mall of Oman, City Centre malls, My City Centre neighbourhood centres, and five community malls which are in joint venture with the Government of Sharjah. The Company is the exclusive franchisee for Carrefour in over 30 markets across the Middle East, Africa and Asia, operating a portfolio of more than 400 outlets including City+, the region’s first checkout-free store, and an online store.
Majid Al Futtaim operates more than 600 VOX Cinemas screens as well as a portfolio of world-class leisure and entertainment experiences across the region including Ski Dubai, Ski Egypt, Dreamscape, Magic Planet, Little Explorers and iFLY Dubai. The Company is parent to a Fashion, Home and Specialty retail business representing international brands such as Abercrombie & Fitch, Hollister, AllSaints, lululemon athletica, Crate & Barrel, LEGO and THAT, a Majid Al Futtaim fashion concept store and app. In addition, Majid Al Futtaim operates Enova, a facility and energy management company, through a joint venture operation with Veolia, a global leader in optimised environment resource management
