Virgin Mega Store

AZADEA Group to launch 23 stores in Reem Mall

UAE-based lifestyle retailer AZADEA Group is set to open 23 stores in Abu Dhabi’s Reem Mall to cement its position in the Middle East. As part of AZADEA’s expansion, Calzedonia, Deichmann, Flying Tiger Copenhagen and Intimissimi all opened their first Abu Dhabi stores late last month, while Mood, Reserved, Salsa, and Tezenis will each open debut units imminently. COO of AZADEA Group, Walid Chahine, said: “This new major development in Abu Dhabi represents a key milestone in our expansion strategy in the emirate. “We exist to provide our customers with an entertaining and exciting way of life and are undergoing a promising growth phase in the region. Abu Dhabi continues to maintain its position as a leading destination for shopping and attractions with the launch of differentiated projects such as Reem Mall that provide residents and tourists with several leisure, entertainment, and retail options.” Among the other brands that either recently opened or are set to open in the coming weeks are: Bershka, Boggi Milano, Decathlon, Eataly, KIKO Milano, Mango, Massimo Dutti, PAUL, Pull&Bear, Oysho, Sunglass Hut, Urban Outfitters and Virgin Megastore. The new brands make up a total footprint of 12,800 square metres of Reem Mall which is scheduled to fully open this quarter or the next quarter. COO of Reem Mall, Steve Bunce, said: “We are thrilled to witness the growing presence of our tenants as they open their stores and restaurants at Reem Mall. “We are delighted to have AZADEA – one of the region’s leading retail and leisure groups with a prominent presence in the development – on board. We eagerly anticipate the response of our customers to the new stores, which started to roll out at the end of last month.” Since its inception in 1978, the Group has developed more than 700 retail stores representing 37 international brands in areas such as fashion and accessories, home furnishings, sporting goods and beauty & cosmetics. AZADEA Group operates across 13 countries, including Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and Cyprus.

United Arab Emirates · 11 Apr 2023

Virgin Megastore - The Dubai Mall Opening 2018

14 May 2020

New Store Opening

Virgin MegaStore is opening soon in The Avenues قريباً افتتاح فيرجين في الأڤنيوز #TheAvenues #kuwait

Kuwait · 1 Mar 2020

New Store Opening

It’s GOOD TO BE BACK. It’s so good to be in Kuwait 🇰🇼! Our doors have finally opened at @the_avenues.

Kuwait · 22 Feb 2020

New Store Opening

Virgin Megastore is back in Kuwait!! Make sure to visit our new fresh looking store at The Avenues, Phase 1. BIG congrats to our AZADEANS and Virgin teams for the new opening! Another milestone added! Become an AZADEAN! discover new possibilities with us! https://bit.ly/2x6tjI8 #AZADEAGroup #BelieveInPossibilities #AZADEACareers #AZADEAGreatPlaceToWork #Kuwait #JoinOurTeam #NewStoreOpening #VirginMegastore

Kuwait · 22 Feb 2020

Virgin Megastore Celebrates the Opening of Its 5th Branch in Riyadh

Virgin Megastore starts the year with the celebration of the opening of its latest branch in Riyadh Park, marking their 5th store in Riyadh city, and 12th across the kingdom. In an igniting creative theme, the event hosted a massive crowd of VIPs, media, bloggers and social media influencers; amongst them was the CEO of Virgin Megastore Mohammed Ramadan. For the occasion of the opening, guests were offered exclusive promotions and discounts, and they were also entertained with live jazz music performance and fine Saudi hospitality. Virgin Megastore has evolved to become the one-stop-shop where everything creative, entertaining, and artistic can be found, offering a wide variety of products to every individual’s lifestyle, covering diverse age groups. From computers and accessories, electronics and multimedia, gaming, books, gadgets, gifts, music and movies, house gadgets, and event tickets, Virgin Megastore has proven to be one of the leading figures in retail entertainment on a global level as it aims to offer a blend of pop-culture and local traditions. “We have successfully achieved our objectives for the past year, making sure we are taking the right steps towards vision 2030. We have ended 2018 with the conversion of our company from a foreign investment company to a Saudi-owned company. In addition, we have expanded our stores across the kingdom to make sure we are closer to our customers, increased Saudization rate to reach 80% across all stores, and launched our ecommerce services. Starting 2019, we wanted to mark it with a success to set the tone of our market presence throughout the year, as not only do we open today’s store, but we are expecting more branches within the year, the opening of the biggest Virgin Megastore in the world, and finally having our stores in the airports of the three major cities of Saudi Arabia, Riyadh, Jeddah, and Dammam.” Commented Mr. Mohammed Ramadan.

Saudi Arabia · 24 Feb 2019

Virgin Megastore Celebrates the Opening of its 5th Branch in Jeddah

Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. December 2018. Virgin Megastore celebrated the opening of its latest branch in Mall of Arabia, marking their 5th store in Jeddah city, and 11th across the kingdom. Virgin Megastore was honored to host a massive crowd of VIPs, media, bloggers and social media influencers; amongst them was Dr. Musallam Bin Musallam, the Chairman & CEO of Ayan, and the majority shareholder at Virgin, Mr. Ahmed Bin Zagr, a contributing partner, and Mr. Saifudin Usher، the Saudi Consulate General of Britain. For the occasion of the opening, guests were offered to join the festival, a lively carnival themed activity that spreads cheer and festivity by offering all mall guests various games, eye-catching street performers, a live musical band, gifts and prizes,exclusive promotions, discounts, and many gifts. Since the opening of its first store in KSA, Virgin Megastore has proven to be the place to go for diverse product categories. Driven by its goal to provide a wide range of products that cater to changing trends and a variety of needs; from computers and accessories, electronics and multimedia, gaming, books, gadgets, gifts, music and movies, house gadgets, and event tickets. Virgin Megastore has proven to be one of the leading figures in retail entertainment on a global level as it aims to offer a blend of pop-culture and local traditions. “We have been working around-the-clock to achieve several successes this year, and make sure our stores are expanding across the kingdom. This counts as our third store opening during the 2nd half of 2018, with two more highly anticipated openings before the end of the year in Riyadh, and to have a celebrated new year, our team has high aspirations this year with the intent of opening the biggest virgin megastore in the world by 2019.” Commented Mr. Mohammed Ramdan – Virgin Megastore CEO.

Saudi Arabia · 9 Jan 2019

Doha Festival City is officially open. Here’s what you need to know

Thousands of curious shoppers turned up to explore Qatar’s newest, biggest mall yesterday after its soft launch opening. About half of the QR6 billion Doha Festival City (DFC)’s 500 stores are currently open, with more to follow in the coming weeks and months. DFC has brought several new names to Qatar, including upscale British department store Harvey Nichols, Borders bookstore, stationery specialists Paperchase, Ace Hardware and Japanese interiors label Muji. However, many of these are not yet open to the public. Mall officials previously said its outlets and facilities should be fully open by September. This is despite DFC postponing its launch several times, due to what officials said were issues with “supporting infrastructure.” If you plan to head to the new mall this weekend, here’s what you need to know: Getting there DFC is situated north of Doha, next to IKEA, just off of Al Shamal Road –about 10 minute’s drive north of Landmark Mall. West entrance of Doha Festival City. Credit: DFC/Facebook If you’re coming from central Doha, pass the under-construction North Gate mall on your left, then look for brown signs on the right indicating the slip road to take that leads to DFC. A flyover leads to access roads behind the mall, which have multiple entrances to multi-story car parks and shaded parking lots. Alternatively, motorists can follow the road round, going past IKEA to the front of the mall, which leads to the West parking area. This is at ground level and is unshaded. DFC’s location. It’s also where the valet and VIP valet parking facilities are. While there is a fee (QR30/60) to use these, all the other parking is free. In total, there will be 8,000 parking spaces across four levels of the complex, although construction is ongoing at some sections at the front of the mall. To leave DFC, follow clearly-marked signs back to the Al Shamal Road, and take the lanes marked for Doha. What’s open so far Around half the stores, and some cafes and coffee shops, were open to the public on launch day yesterday. Paperchase at Doha Festival City. Credit: Doha News Qatar “firsts” that were already up and running included UK stationery store Paperchase and a branch of the minimalist Japanese clothing and interiors chain Muji. There are also new outposts of homeware store Pottery Barn and Pottery Barn kids, a Bateel cafe and a large Toys R Us. Pottery Barn at Doha Festival City. Credit: Doha News This is in addition to branches of Qatar staples such as Zara, H&M, Mothercare, Virgin Megastore, Centrepoint and Home Centre. Staff at Qatar’s third and biggest branch of M&S welcomed customers to the two-level store. This branch contains a food hall with some lines of its popular chilled and ready-made meals, as well as an in-store bakery and a table-service cafe. M&S food hall at Doha Festival City. Credit: Doha News Other mall F&B outlets that are already open include branches of Starbucks and Tim Hortons. What’s still to come The shutters were still down on what has been billed as the world’s biggest Monoprix store. Staff said they hoped it would open around April 14. Monoprix at Doha Festival City. Credit: Doha News Several of the mall’s anchor tenants have also yet to open, including department stores Harvey Nichols, Debenhams and BHS. Borders books, the Lego store, Go Sport, Japanese discount shop Daiso and French music and book store FNAC were also either behind hoardings or still shuttered. Borders book store at Doha Festival City. Credit: Doha News And DIY enthusiasts will need to wait a couple more months for the launch of the country’s first hardware superstore, as Ace is working toward a June opening, according to a mall guide. Entertainment options The 18-screen Vox Cinemas was also still closed to the public, as workers could be seen still finishing off the inside. A cinema staffer said they hoped the movie theater would open in the coming week or so. Vox Cinemas at Doha Festival City. Credit: Doha News When it does launch, it will have screens with multi-sensory 4DX technology. This will allow viewers to experience sensations as well as visuals — such as rain, fog, wind, bubbles, scents and vibrations — depending on what’s happening on-screen. And peckish movie-goers can choose snacks from a menu devised by Michelin-starred chef Gary Rhodes, according to the mall’s website. An artist’s impression of the Snow Dunes attractions. Credit: DFC Meanwhile, other entertainment options at the mall are also still under-construction and are eyeing a summer launch. This includes an Angry Birds theme park, which will feature a trampoline park, indoor and outdoor go-karting track, a drop-tower and water rapids. There will also be a 4,800 sq meter snow park with “snow dunes,” with slides and sledging; and a gaming center called Virtuosity, which is aimed at teens and adults. Eating and drinking Ultimately, there will be around 100 F&B outlets in the mall, although many of these have yet to open. Five Guys at Doha Festival City. Credit: Doha News Hoardings are still around what will be Qatar’s first Five Guys, as well as outlets including Le Pain Quotidien, 800 Degrees Pizza, The Cheesecake Factory and Katsuya. Many of the outlets in one of what will be two food courts could be seen preparing to open in the coming days. These include fast-food favorites McDonalds, KFC, Shater Abbas and Pizza Hut. Additionally, there’s Koushari and More, which offers popular Egyptian snacks, while sweet-toothed shoppers can satiate their cravings at Wafflemeister. Food court at Doha Festival City. Credit: DFC Some eateries are using workarounds to serve customers during the launch. For example, a member of staff at Carluccios said there was no gas connection to the mall yet, and so the restaurant was offering a reduced menu in the interim. Services Meanwhile, banks and ATMS have not yet opened. And some stores were also having teething problems with their debit/credit card machines. Soft launch opening of Doha Festival City. Credit: Doha News The mall will eventually have five pharmacies, but none were open yesterday. There are also spacious baby feeding and changing facilities in the ladies’ toilets. DFC is open Sunday to Wednesday, 10am until 10pm; and Thursday to Saturday, 10am to midnight. Monoprix will open daily 9am until midnight. Outlets will close for Friday prayers.

Qatar · 5 Apr 2017

Virgin Megastore Opens at Taj Lifestyle, Jordan

One of the world’s most innovative retailers, Virgin Megastore was established in 1971 and offers value for money, quality, and fun. Virgin Megastore has diversified and evolved into an entertainment lifestyle destination across the MENA region, and is today the leading entertainment retail destination for the whole family. Virgin Megastore offers its customers a wide range of entertainment and media products ranging from movies, music and books to electronics and accessories, gaming, gift items, toys and gadgets, fashion, and services to complement the products. The brand currently operates more than 35 stores in eight countries across the Middle East and Africa.

Jordan · 25 Jul 2015

Virgin Megastore Opens at Al Jimi Mall, UAE

One of the world’s most innovative retailers, Virgin Megastore was established in 1971 and offers value for money, quality, and fun. Virgin Megastore has diversified and evolved into an entertainment lifestyle destination across the MENA region, and is today the leading entertainment retail destination for the whole family. Virgin Megastore offers its customers a wide range of entertainment and media products ranging from movies, music and books to electronics and accessories, gaming, gift items, toys and gadgets, fashion, and services to complement the products. The brand currently operates more than 35 stores in eight countries across the Middle East and Africa.

United Arab Emirates · 2 Jul 2015

New Store Opening

On February 19, we opened our 5th branch in KSA in the presence of a remarkable audience in Al Nakheel Mall - Riyadh.

Saudi Arabia · 10 Apr 2015

Virgin Megastore pulls Kuwait operations, store to close end-Feb

International music retailer Virgin Megastore has announced plans to suspend its operations in Kuwait just weeks after supplier Music Master pulled out of the country due to censorship of albums and artwork. The world’s largest entertainment chain is due to close its store in Kuwait’s Marina Mall by the end of this month, and will rush to sell the remaining stock through a clearance sale to end on the store’s final day. Virgin declined to comment on whether the move was related to censorship issues, but sources say the firm has been mulling the scale of its retail operations in the Gulf state for some time. According to reports, almost 60 percent of products sold at Virgin Megastore are banned in Kuwait, with the Ministry of Information forbidding CDs by artists such as Lady Gaga, Britney Spears and Eminem due to their controversial lyrics. “Virgin Megastore is saddened to leave Kuwait. We thank our loyal customers for their relentless support over the years,” said Nisreen Shocair, President of Virgin Megastore MENA. “This has been a difficult decision, but it is one that will allow us to better manage our resources and focus on growing the markets that support the Virgin Megastore business model.” Last month, record distributor Music Master said it was also pulling out of the cash-rich Gulf state as it was struggling to maintain profit margins. It said the restrictions on what music could be sold had put downward pressure on sales and made it difficult to justify doing business there. “There is too much censorship to justify having a full-scale operation there,” Saeed El Ajou, managing director of the Dubai-based company, told Arabian Business. “It is basically lyrics and artwork and anything that is seen as provocative won’t go through. Anything which has any provocative lyrics or any innuendo,” said El Ajou. The country’s restrictions eclipse those enforced even by conservative Saudi Arabia, he said. “It is purely Kuwait-specific, everywhere else we are very fortunate that there are no censorship issues. Even Saudi has been liberal in what they allow through. “Kuwaiti people are very forward-thinking so it is unfortunate.” Kuwait, along with most Gulf states, has been battling to modernise its society and at the same time maintain conservative traditions. In 2008, music shops were closed, and in 2009, politicians called for music education to be banned. A number of singers have also been prevented from performing in Kuwait, including Lebanese singer Nancy Ajram who was refused permission to hold a concert in 2005. Egyptian singer Tamer Hosni’s show in 2008 ended abruptly when a fan jumped up on stage and kissed him.

Kuwait · 8 Feb 2012