Skip to content
+852 2659 9280
All projects Dubai, United Arab Emirates · 2015

Dubai Design District (d3)

Retail planning, waterfront strategy and tenant recommendations for a destination centred on design, culture and dining.

Husband Retail’s retail consultancy brought market research together with layout, zoning and brand recommendations for a waterfront destination. The master plan brief connected shops and restaurants with theatres, museums and galleries, translating the character of the place into recommendations for areas and units.

Discuss your project
  • Consultancy
162,000 sq m Approximate GFA
1.8 km Waterfront length Cultural venues alongside shops and restaurants.

Planning retail around a waterfront destination

The brief was to develop a retail and dining strategy for a waterfront intended to become a centre for the Middle East’s design scene. The promenade combined cultural venues with shops and restaurants, giving the retail offer a role within a destination.

The planning task considered the intended character of each area. Consumer, retailer and competitor studies provided a basis for the recommendations, supported by benchmarks from other waterfront projects.

Connecting cultural uses with retail and dining

Theatres, museums and galleries formed part of the waterfront brief alongside shops and restaurants. Our work considered the retail offer within that setting, with concepts and brand mixes developed for individual areas. This took the destination’s ambition into detailed recommendations about where different offers would sit along the promenade.

What our work covered

01 Consumer and market research We studied consumers, retailers and competitors to inform the retail and dining strategy. The research connected the proposed offer with its market, providing a basis for assessing the concepts and brands to recommend across the waterfront.
02 Waterfront benchmarks The appointment included benchmarks of waterfront projects. These references informed the planning work, bringing examples of comparable destinations into the discussion about the retail and dining offer and its place within the wider cultural setting.
03 Layout and zoning We advised on layout and zoning across the waterfront. This work translated the destination brief into an arrangement of retail areas, connecting the plan with the concepts and brand mixes proposed for each part of the promenade.
04 Concepts and tenant recommendations Our recommendations covered the concept and brand mix for each area, followed by tenant recommendations for individual units. This linked the retail strategy with a detailed view of the operators suited to the proposed spaces.

A retail framework for the master plan

The work brought research, waterfront benchmarks, layout and zoning into a set of retail recommendations. Area concepts and brand mixes were developed alongside tenant recommendations at unit level, giving the project team a framework for considering the retail and dining offer as the master plan progressed.

Dubai Design District, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Dubai Design District, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Related services

Development Consultancy Retail planning and commercial advice for developments at the master plan stage. Research & Market Intelligence Consumer, retailer and competitor research to inform retail property decisions.

Related projects

Lusail Boulevard, Doha CJ Live, South Korea
Contact

Discuss your retail destination

Planning a waterfront or cultural destination? Tell us about the site, its intended role and the decisions ahead. We can discuss how research, zoning and tenant recommendations could support your plans.

Discuss your project
Telephone
+852 2659 9280
Office
3/F, 8 Queen’s Road East
Wanchai, Hong Kong

Tell us about your project

Share a few details about your enquiry.