Cairo the Newest Retailing Destination

Cairo, the capital of Egypt, founded in 969 AD is the largest city in Africa and the 16th most populated metropolitan area in the world and has recently become the most desirable retail destination.

The majority of the Egypt's commerce is generated there, or passes through the city. The great majority of publishing houses and media outlets and nearly all film studios are there, as are half of the nation's hospital beds and universities. This has fuelled rapid construction in the city—one building in five is less than 15 years old.

This astonishing growth until recently surged well ahead of city services. Homes, roads, electricity, telephone and sewer services were all suddenly in short supply. Analysts trying to grasp the magnitude of the change coined terms like "hyper-urbanization".

In the last ten years, Cairo has witnessed a boom in shopping centres and it keeps going upwards. In The Changing Cultures of Modern Egypt, we focus and try to analyze this boom by exploring the retail industry in Cairo and malls are the best way to learn about the retail industry of any nation.

Earlier, shopping in Cairo was rather like shopping in one enormous, sprawling marketplace - with shops everywhere! Virtually any item from any part of Egypt could be found for sale somewhere in Cairo and shoppers didn’t have to search far to find some great souvenirs for their holiday. However, recently a large number of modern shopping malls have become an integral part of the city and are especially popular with visiting tourists.

Many shopping malls have started appearing all around the suburbs of Cairo in recent years and have become particularly social places, when many young Egyptians meet up and hang out, particularly in the large food courts and around the atriums. The main shopping malls in Cairo are as follows:

Arkadia Mall: The largest shopping mall in the whole of Cairo, with more than 500 different stores in total. Other highlights here include restaurants, bars and a huge amusement arcade with the latest video games.

Stars Shopping Centre : Stars Centre is the retail and leisure component of the Citystars complex and provides a unique shopping and entertainment experience in the Middle East. 

Stars Centre is now the second largest shopping mall in the Middle East after the construction of Dubai Mall which is now the largest shopping mall in the world. Stars Centre consists of 7 levels, and has the largest cinema complex in Egypt (21 screens).

First Residence Mall : A particularly exclusive place to shop, with many designer stores and boutiques, together with a number of local retailers.

Ramses Hilton Mall : A fairly family orientated space with plenty of clothing stores, homewares, jewellers, a cinema and even an outlet of McDonalds, where the burgers, fries and cola are often popular with western tourists.

Talaat Harb Shopping Complex : Located in the heart of the downtown district and especially popular with young 'Cairenes', the Talaat Harb Shopping Complex offers a range of fashion boutiques and a good food court with plenty of inexpensive eateries.

 

Other popular shopping malls located both in and around the city of Cairo include:

Dandy Mall

Genena Mall

Horeya Mall

Maadi Grand Mall

Nile City Towers Mall

Serag Mall

Tiba Mall

Wonderland Shopping Center