The luxury mob moves on: Bin Hendi closes "Luxury Arcade" at Deira City Centre

From Arabian Business 12 June 09

Oh meeouw! Bin Hendi pulls out of Deira City Centre because its not "classy" enough and there aren't enough "luxury" shoppers......the second part at least is true, you could fire a cannon down there in the luxury arcade most days and not hit anyone except bored shop assistants.
Well, woohoo is my response to that. I love Deira CC, its full of real people doing their real shopping. We may be "non-luxury" to you Mr BinHendi but we non-luxury shoppers and our money will be around long after your precious luxury crowd have moved on. I'll also be sure to avoid your Second Cup coffee bars that remain in DCC, I wouldn't want to offend you by spending my "non-luxury" money there. If you want me you'll find me in Costas.

The earlier post is here.


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BinHendi Enterprises confirmed on Thursday that its first own branded mall, BinHendi Avenue, has closed due to a lack of luxury shoppers in Dubai’s Deira City Centre.


Mohidin BinHendi, the president of BinHendi enterprises, said the closure was not the result of the downturn in Dubai’s retail sector but rather a consequence of shoppers choosing newer, glitzier malls over older ones for their luxury purchases.


“We are in luxury goods, and the mall is no longer for luxury goods,” he told Arabian Business.

“When new facilities come the old facilities lose their charm, and it’s happened to all the malls.”Deira City Centre was the third major mall, after Al Ghurair City and Bur Juman, to open in Dubai when it threw its doors open in 1996.


The Majid Al Futtaim owned development was the city’s largest mall until Nakheel’s Ibn Battuta opened in 2005.


Today it is one of Dubai’s most affordable malls, with brands like Carrefour, H&M and New Look among the tenants.

BinHendi will continue to operate two Second Cup coffee shops in the centre.


The two-storey BinHendi avenue had been home around 26 high-end stores selling brands such as Hugo Boss, Porsche Design, Phat Farm, plus a BinHendi Boutique selling luxury watches and jewellery, and dining outlets. The avenue was opened to a huge fanfare in December 2005.


In February a new BinHendi Boutique was opened in Emaar’s The Dubai Mall, following on the heels of another store in the Burj Al Arab in June 2008.

BinHendi closes luxury avenue in Dubai

From ArabianBusiness.com, 12 May '09. The closure of the Bin Hendi annexe at the Deira City Center mall isn't a big surprise is it? Don't know about you, but I've walked through that section of the mall many times simply because its a good way to get to and from the carpark. I doubt that I've ever seen a single customer in any of the shops. Why would a shopper looking for "luxury brands" go to Deira when everything they're looking for is at BurJuman? Having read the article I'm also baffled that anyone would buy from a clothes shop called "Phat Farm."

In the absence of any official comment, we must rely on the thoughts of the waitress at Noodle Hut but that's no criticism, as the waitress probably knows more than management about what's really happening.

Last thought: Maybe Toyota could move back into the space at DCC........
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Luxury brand owner BinHendi Enterprises is in talks with the owners of Deira City Centre about the future of its self-named avenue, which makes up a significant proportion of the shopping mall, Arabian Business can reveal.

Visiting the mall on Tuesday Arabian Business discovered all shops in the luxury BinHendi Avenue had been closed, with only Noodle House and Cafe Di Roma open for business.

According to a waitress at Noodle House the two dozen or so shops had been closed for two weeks, but both restaurants had no plans to shut, she added.

A spokesperson for the Majid Al Futtaim Group, owner of Deira City Centre, confirmed on Tuesday that BinHendi was in discussions with the group for its future leasing plans of the avenue.

“Negotiations are going on between the tenant and the leasing department but nothing has been finalised yet,” she said.

The two-storey avenue had been home around 26 high-end stores selling brands such as Hugo Boss, Porsche Design, Phat Farm, plus a BinHendi Boutique selling luxury watches and jewellery, and dining outlets.

The avenue was opened to a huge fanfare in December 2005.In February a new BinHendi Boutique was opened in Dubai Mall, following on the heels of another store in the Burj Al Arab in June 2008.

BinHendi was not immediately available for comment.