DUBAI - Three years after being gutted by a fire the Landmark group’s flagship mall Oasis Center reopened its doors to the public recently.

Shoppers trickled into the shopping centre in twos and threes during early afternoon hours two days after its opening on Monday.

Some shoppers gingerly examined the mall’s new spacious interiors while many others excitedly moved from one retail outlet to the next looking for similarities with the old one.

As opposed to Dubai’s undying need to have the biggest of everything, the Oasis Center is a value mall.

The inward-looking interior design of the shopping mall, gives shoppers the opportunity to have a panoramic view of most of the retail outlets from the atrium which is located a few steps away from the entrance.

Vipen Sethi, the CEO of Landmark Group said, “You wouldn’t get tired looking around the mall. The architecture is focused and strategically built.” He added that reopening the mall was like a feather in Landmark Group’s cap. “It was like a dream come true,” said Sethi. “Well, it certainly is bigger than the older Oasis Center,” said Janet Habib, a Palestinian national who was with her two kids.

Dana said that she was in the mall out of curiosity. “It’s spacious, and the placing of the retail stores are strategic,” added Dana.

Most retail outlets including Splash, New Look, Lifestyle, Bossini and Springfield among others are selling their products at discounted rates.

“I did not visit the old Oasis Center, but the new one is really good. Most of the stores are light on the budget except for very few stores,” said Divya N, an Indian national visiting the center.

E-max, the electronics retailer at the Oasis Center is every electronics buff’s dream come true. Spread over 115,000 square feet, E-max is a two-storey electronics jungle.

With over 100,000 consumables in display, ranging from mobile phone accessories, watches, astronomical devices, musical instruments, household appliances and video games among many of the other items in the store.

“You could get lost in E-max, and not in the mall,” said Andrew H who was looking for camera lenses.

“It’s the variety in brands and products that’s really good here. And the mall itself is compact and easy to manoeuvre around,” added Andrew.

Vanity stores like Spaces and Beauty Bay offer a myriad of hair, nail, and other beauty services to men, women and kids. With a few more stores still to open, including an exclusive ladies Fitness First and Starbucks coffee the only thing the center lacks is a bookshop.

In response to that Sethi said, “We would be more than happy to look at anyone who is willing to start a book and music store in the Center.”

(Published by Dhanusha Gokulan on http://www.khaleejtimes.com)