The City Plaza at Dome Mall on Prince Sultan Street here formally became Centrepoint at a ceremony held on Sept. 10. “Centrepoint incorporates a new concept of retailing with a free movement for shoppers through its four department stores - Babyshop, Splash, Shoemart and Lifestyle - under one roof. The Homecentre store was also opened up after a complete renovation and a brand new look along with EMAX its Electronics Store,” Santosh K. Pai, chief operating officer at Centrepoint, told reporters on the sidelines of the launch ceremony. A colorful display of traditional cultural program with fireworks, coupled with games and events for children and ladies marked the ceremony. “Previously, customers had to settle the bill at each store before moving on to another. Now, they have all been brought together providing a free access through all of its stores for added convenience,” he added. Of the 34 City Plazas around the Kingdom, up to 19 of them have already been changed to Centrepoint. “The remaining ones will be changed by the end of the financial year,” Pai said. The proliferation of shopping malls across Jeddah has triggered a tough competition for retailers. “While malls have an edge with families for leisure shopping and children's recreation and grocery shopping, stores like Centrepoint will continue to attract serious and focused shoppers due to its wider appeal of retailing international fashion at competitive prices,” he added. The name change was preceded by a renovation plan to give a new look to it. At least a dozen Centrepoints are in the pipeline across the Kingdom. Among the new ones planned is one in Madinah in the next two weeks. Jeddah will have two more Centrepoints - one at Mall of Arabia by mid-December, followed by another at Central Park near King Abdul Aziz University in February, and at Flamingo Mall by April. Pai said Saudization has been at the forefront and we employ over 350 strong workforce. “Our human resource department has a training cell for providing on-job technical skills in retailing,” he said. “A lot of Saudis have taken the career option. He added that 80 percent of its customers are Saudis. “We also get a regular feedback from our customers and the same is reviewed and implemented,” he further said. “In fact, the new Centrepoint marks a whole concept change in retailing,” Shirish Jain, general manager of Centrepoint projects at Dubai-based Landmark Group, said, adding that the renovation plan for City Plaza began 18 months ago.
