Chasing the 'Saar shilling'

A NEW wave of swanky shopping strips and upscale mini-malls are cropping up in Bahrain as retailers compete for a cut of the 'Budaiya buck' and the 'Saar shilling'.

The neighbourhood is a hotspot for expat families living alongside Bahrainis and Gulf nationals as some of the island's top international schools are within easy commuting distance.

Although Bahrain City Centre and the Seef Shopping Mall are also within a short driving distance, the number of outlets and facilities suddenly cropping up on their doorstep is breathtaking.

A recent addition to the line of shopping strips is the white-washed Palm Square - located off the main Budaiya Highway.

Despite the fact that the Country Mall is within close proximity and an assortment of fast food and retail shops dot the busy stretch of road, Palm Square's popularity has skyrocketed in a short span of time and it has been a case of jingle tills as the dinars flow in. The Crepe CafŽ, which has a branch in Seef Mall, opened its doors to Budaiya residents just before Eid.

Supervisor Loida Atienza worked at the Seef Mall outlet for three years and now manages the Palm Square cafŽ. She said: "It gets very crowded here, perhaps more so than at Seef Mall because a lot of our customers who were visiting the Seef outlet were living in this area anyway. Now, we are practically on their doorstep. On regular days we have many female customers in the morning and a lot of young people and families at night."

Erwin Arpon, a salesman at Special Moments, a gift-wrapping and party decorations shop, added: "Customer footfall has been very good."

Palm Square has been developed by Manama Realty. A spokesperson for the development company, which boasts a comprehensive portfolio covering retail, residential and office properties, said: "We are driven by opportunities and market demand and have identified the opportunity and conceptualised and implemented the project.

"Budaiya Highway is a well established main road and appeals to the residing population and visitors from other areas in Bahrain as well. Palm Square's unique points are its balanced approach to architecture, tenancy mix, outdoor spaces and the fact that it is in harmony with the surrounding environment."

A range of food and beverage outlets and concept stores with some firsts like TCBY, a popular American frozen yoghurt chain, Concept Ceramic and Interiors shop, Art Bazaar, and furniture brand Poliform are located at the square. In fact, as weather improves the demand to extend the seating area outdoors has already been aired by customers visiting the outlets.

Alma Lampad Halili, supervisor of TCBY, said: "Our owners have identified a potential hotspot in terms of location and business is booming for us."

And, with the constant stream of cars driving into the parking area of the new development, one expat shopper commented: "It's all about location, location, location! But I wish Palm Square was more of a pedestrian shopping strip."

The spokesman for Manama Realty, added: "We have achieved our optimum tenancy mix and are excited about adding truly new concepts to Bahrain. These concepts are currently in progress and work has commenced on their fit out and interiors.

"These new concepts include an Italian pizzeria and restaurant, a Lebanese restaurant, a unique deli-diner concept, an art cafe and a unique neighborhood style cafe. There will also be a leading bank that will have a retail branch to serve the area. We are proud to house the new and existing brands as either locally-grown concepts and businesses, or first outlets for some of the international brands present at Palm Square today."

Another mixed-use development close to completion is the Nakheel Centre situated adjacent to St Christopher's junior school campus in Saar. According to its developers, location and a prudent tenant mix is going to be Nakheel Centre's ticket to success.

With scores of parents and children doing their daily rounds back and forth from school, the complex will provide an ideal grocery and coffee shop stop-over for parents wiling away the time between child pick-ups.

Claire Luck, associate director of DTZ Bahrain, who is representing the owners - a Bahraini family who wish to keep a low profile - as their leasing and managing agents, said: "Saar has traditionally been a predominantly residential area and the volume of villas and apartments is increasing all the time. However, the volume of neighbourhood retail is low in comparison and we feel that the local community needed a better provision of services on its doorstep.

"Due to our location next to St Christopher's, we have carefully selected tenants for Nakheel Centre based on our understanding of what is needed by the local community and the requirements of children, parents and teachers.

"A supermarket will provide parents with a useful place to pick up groceries whilst a variety of food and beverage outlets will offer everything from a coffee to breakfast, lunch and dinner.

"The centre will also be a one-stop-shop for people to make use of all the services available.

"It will allow them to pick up essentials from the pharmacy, a bunch of flowers or box of chocolates for a loved one, to hiring a car, doing their dry cleaning, or treating themselves to a well-deserved manicure or beauty treatment."