Primark Plans Abu Dhabi Entry After Blockbuster Dubai Launch as Alshaya Accelerates UAE Expansion

Primark is set to enter Abu Dhabi after a blockbuster Dubai launch that drew roughly 1 million shoppers and sold about 4 million items across three large-format stores, parent company Alshaya Group said. Alshaya confirmed it is in talks with major landlords in the emirate and expects to announce plans “certainly within the next 12 months,” accelerating its original UAE rollout after the retailer exceeded expectations in Dubai.

“We want to be more aggressive and grow quicker than what we originally planned,” John Hadden, chief executive of Alshaya Group, told Gulf News, signalling a faster expansion timetable for Primark and other Alshaya brands across the UAE and wider Gulf region.

Launch performance and consumer response

Primark opened three large-format stores in Dubai in less than eight weeks, including sites at City Centre Mirdif, Dubai Mall and Mall of the Emirates. Hadden said the retailer has served 1 million customers and “We’ve sold 4 million units,” adding that “10 per cent of that is pajamas. So, we sold 400,000 sets of pajamas.”

Hadden noted that Dubai shoppers already knew the global brand, but the in-market experience amplified the appeal: “Prices are the same as in Europe… I don’t think they appreciated necessarily the price proposition… and also the quality of the product and the fashionability of the product.” He singled out City Centre Mirdif as a standout performer: “The real nice part has been Mirdif. That store has done particularly well for us.”

Logistics, stock and store format challenges

• High demand has forced Alshaya to modify supply routes and use air freight for replenishment: “We then have charted a couple of airplanes… because we had to,” Hadden said.
• Primark’s usual sea-freight route via Jebel Ali has been supplemented by diversions through Jeddah, Salalah and Egypt, with goods trucked into the UAE.
• Alshaya highlighted that Primark requires large-format footprints, creating a challenge for expansion in Abu Dhabi where “big space is difficult to find.”

Hadden defended the higher logistics costs on margin grounds: “It’s a volume business. As long as we get in the volume, we can afford to do what we do.”

Regional rollout and broader Alshaya investments

Beyond Abu Dhabi, Alshaya confirmed two more Primark openings this year: Bahrain in October and Qatar around October–November. Hadden said the group will continue to explore more Dubai sites into next year, though nothing else is confirmed yet.

Khalifa Bin Braik, CEO of Majid Al Futtaim Asset Management, welcomed the partnership, saying: “We saw an incredible response following Primark’s opening at City Centre Mirdif, so it’s exciting to now bring the brand to Mall of the Emirates… as part of our growing partnership with Alshaya Group.” He noted City Centre Bahrain will be the next step in the rollout.

Alshaya is also broadening its UAE footprint beyond retail. The group announced a 480,000-square-foot mixed-use joint venture in Dubai Hills with Brookfield Properties, which will include Grade A office space, residential units and retail. Hadden said construction is expected to begin within the next 12 months and that Alshaya plans to relocate its UAE office to the development once complete.

Alshaya entered the UAE in 1985 and now operates more than 700 stores in the country, with Primark and other recent launches such as Ulta Beauty forming part of the group's accelerated expansion strategy in the region.