Given the infrastructure boom and rapidly growing population, size of Qatar's retail market has touched QR32bn ($8.9bn) mark, local Arabic daily Al Raya reported.
As a result of growing demand and higher purchasing power of people, the sector is expected to grow by over 6 percent annually during 2014 and 2017.
Supported by massive infrastructure investments and sharp increase in the country's population, non-oil sector is anticipated to register over 10 percent growth in 2014, said the daily quoting Euromonitor International, a London-based market intelligence firm.
"The current economic boom and huge investments in infrastructure development by government are positively affecting the country's retail market," Abdulaziz Al Emadi, a prominent Qatari businessman was quoted by the daily as saying.
Al Emadi noted that higher public sector spending has accelerated economic activities and doubled people's purchasing capacity.
"With the launch of several mega projects and significant growth in the population (due to influx of foreign workers), Qatar's retail market has become one of the fastest growing in the GCC," he said adding, "This is the reason Qatar has become one of the most preferred destinations of investment by some leading international brands."
He also added that some of the existing international brands in the country are attracting locals as well as customers from neighboring countries. "Earlier people could buy these brands only when they travelled overseas such as the US and Europe."
Al Emadi said that Qatar's retail sector, over the last few of decades, has witnessed sea change. Sales of retail outlets have grown exponentially.
"The retail outlets whose daily sales used to remain confined between QR200 and QR500 about fifty years ago, have now grown to QR100, 000, or even more may be in millions of riyals per month," he said.
He said that availability of large number of commercial centers across the country and their easy access are some of the important factors of the retail sector growth. Contemporary concept of retail shopping facilities such as malls and hypermarkets are providing all goods and services of daily needs under one roof.
"Despite the opening of so many hypermarkets and malls in the country, all the commercial centers remain equally crowded, irrespective of their geographical location and distance," Al Emadi said.
He said that there are several areas that still do not have easy access to retail facilities, especially those facing demolition drives to make way for various developmental projects.
The daily, quoting Al Emadi, said that rentals for shops and commercial spaces have grown to a level beyond imagination. In some places shops are being rented out at a whopping price ranging between QR150,000 and QR250,000 per month.
Another Qatari citizen, Mohammed Shabeeb Al Dosri, also lauded similar opinions about the robust future of retail sector. He added:
"Availability of several commercial centers across the country (inside and outside Doha) and rapidly growing economic activities are some of the key factors for the strong growth of the retail sector. The trend is expected to continue over the next several years."
The Peninsula
18 July
