Adding richness to Kuwait’s mall space

360 Mall, located at the intersection of King Faisal Highway and 6th Ring Road, adds a 360˚ perspective to the mall space in Kuwait, but the beginning wasn’t easy. “The journey started some years before the mall was inaugurated in July 2009. We wanted to create a premium offering so we began by conceptualising the design of the project and then figured out its positioning,” recounts Shavak Srivastava, board member of Kuwait-based Tamdeen Shopping Centres.

“The first six months were quite tough because the timing wasn’t quite right. Those were the days in 2008-09 when the global economic crisis had hit the market. Some of the retailers who had signed up with us said they were cutting back and refused to open new stores. We tried several initiatives to encourage them, even offering a rent-free period that was unheard of in this part of the world. But we knew our strengths. Nothing like 360 Mall had been attempted in Kuwait before so we were certain our formula would work.”