Majid Al-Futtaim expands lifestyle retail footprint across Saudi Arabia

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Updated 24 April 2025
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Majid Al-Futtaim expands lifestyle retail footprint across Saudi Arabia

Majid Al-Futtaim, a leading shopping malls, communities, retail, and leisure pioneer across the Middle East, Africa, and Central Asia, has announced the expansion of its lifestyle retail footprint in Saudi Arabia. As part of its continued commitment to the Saudi market, the group’s lifestyle business plans to open 13 new stores in 2025 — five already launched — bringing its total store count in the Kingdom to 31.

The expansion features a mix of global lifestyle and luxury brands across Riyadh and Jeddah. This includes the launch of the first Saudi stores for Italian smart luxury brand Eleventy and luxury menswear label Corneliani, both of which debuted this month at Solitaire Mall, Riyadh. In May, Poltrona Frau — the iconic Italian luxury furniture house — will open its first store outside the UAE at Centria Mall, further reinforcing Majid Al-Futtaim’s commitment to growing its luxury presence in the Kingdom. 

Abercrombie and Fitch and lululemon also opened new stores in Solitaire Mall last month, marking an important step in their continued regional growth. The brands now operate six and nine stores respectively across the Kingdom, with new locations set to open in Jeddah later this year.

Fahed Ghanim, CEO of Majid Al-Futtaim Lifestyle, said: “Saudi Arabia continues to be a core focus for our business, and our retail expansion reflects both growing consumer demand and our confidence in the market. From fashion and wellness to home and design, our goal is to deliver more of the brands our customers love — while introducing fresh experiences through our exclusive global partnerships.”

“In a region where customers have an abundance of choice, our ambition is to curate a portfolio of global lifestyle and luxury brands that offer something truly distinctive in the Kingdom. By introducing brands like Eleventy, Corneliani, and Poltrona Frau, we are bringing new dimensions to the luxury market — combining timeless craftsmanship with modern sensibilities that resonate with the refined tastes of our customers.”

The launch of Eleventy in Solitaire Mall is part of an ambitious regional expansion for the brand with another four standalone Eleventy stores opening in key locations in 2025, including Mall of the Emirates, Marsa Al-Arab, Dubai Mall and The Grove in the UAE. Known for its commitment to sustainable practices and premium materials, Eleventy reflects the growing consumer demand for quality and subtle sophistication, all under the “Made in Italy” banner. 

Marco Baldassari, co-founder and menswear creative director at Eleventy, said: “Eleventy’s philosophy of understated elegance and commitment to sustainability resonates strongly with the sophisticated Middle Eastern consumer. We are excited to strengthen our partnership with Majid Al-Futtaim, whose visionary approach to luxury retail is shaping a new vision with a growing focus on customer needs. Together, we aim to redefine luxury retail by offering timeless craftsmanship, sustainable practices, and innovative experiences.”

Majid Al-Futtaim’s lifestyle portfolio will also welcome a new Crate and Barrel store at Sahara Mall, Riyadh, reinforcing the brand’s presence in the capital. Meanwhile, in Jeddah, five new stores will launch at Jawharat Mall, including lululemon, Hollister, Eleventy, Abercrombie and Fitch, and AllSaints — bringing some of the world’s most in-demand fashion and lifestyle brands even closer to Saudi customers.

Majid Al-Futtaim’s retail expansion in Saudi Arabia builds on a record-breaking 2024, which saw a 26 percent increase in revenue across its lifestyle portfolio and a 31 percent surge in digital sales — including a 22 percent uplift in Saudi Arabia alone. The year also saw the opening of 17 new stores across the region, five of which are in the Kingdom, as well as flagship locations for brands such as lululemon, Crate and Barrel, and CB2, alongside 27 e-commerce platforms. 


ITC Infotech accelerates Vision 2030 through digital hub in Riyadh

Updated 17 January 2026
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ITC Infotech accelerates Vision 2030 through digital hub in Riyadh

ITC Infotech’s commitment to delivering real digital change in the Middle East is reinforced by strengthening collaboration and working more closely with customers on the ground. The establishment of its Digital and AI Engineering Hub in Riyadh brings superior digital engineering and AI skills closer to businesses, allowing for speedier collaboration, localized innovation, and solutions targeted to regional needs. This strategic expansion aligns with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 and underscores ITC Infotech’s long-standing emphasis on partnership-led growth and customer-centric innovation.

The hub was officially inaugurated on Jan. 15 by Sanjiv Puri, chairman and managing director of ITC Ltd. This facility is designed to help enterprises leverage advanced technologies and convert digital ambitions into measurable business outcomes. This move aligns closely with Saudi Arabia’s efforts to build a knowledge-driven economy powered by innovation and technology.

Saudi Arabia’s digital leap

Vision 2030 is more than just economic diversification; it is a clear blueprint for creating a technologically advanced society. This vision is centered on the integration of artificial intelligence and digital engineering, which are transforming industries and enabling long-term, sustainable growth. The strategic importance of AI is clear, with the Saudi Data and AI Authority estimating that it may add $135 billion to the Kingdom’s GDP by 2030. This commitment is supported by significant investments, including $14.9 billion announced at LEAP 2025 to advance digital infrastructure, talent, and next-generation technologies, as well as historic projects like the $2.7 billion Hexagon Data Center in Riyadh. Together, these efforts are laying the foundation for a secure, resilient, and future-ready digital ecosystem that can support AI adoption, data-driven governance, and smart city development at scale.

What the hub offers

ITC Infotech’s Riyadh hub is designed to fuel this momentum by focusing on three core areas:

  • AI-powered platforms: Delivering predictive analytics, intelligent automation, and data-driven insights to help businesses transition from reactive operations to proactive strategies.
  • Digital engineering solutions: Leveraging Industry 4.0-driven smart manufacturing capabilities, integrating AI-led modeling, connected systems, and advanced analytics to optimize production performance, improve asset utilization, and proactively reduce operational and quality risks across the engineering lifecycle.
  • Cloud-native architectures: Building agile, secure, and resilient ecosystems that enable faster innovation and seamless integration across enterprise systems.

These capabilities are designed to enable organizations to innovate, scale, and compete in a rapidly evolving digital economy. Beyond technology, the hub is fundamentally anchored in building a team of the region, from the region, for the region and for global impact. Through structured skill-building programs, deep partnerships with academia, systematic knowledge transfer, and immersive, hands-on delivery models, the hub is creating a future-ready Saudi workforce fully aligned with Vision 2030 and capable of serving both national and international priorities.

Driving enterprise transformation 

The ITC Infotech hub aims to enable transformation rather than simply deploy technology. By driving AI adoption, accelerating digital engineering, and building cloud-native ecosystems, ITC Infotech seeks to help businesses:

  • develop new business models to meet evolving market needs.
  • improve operational efficiency through predictive insights and automation.
  • support sustainability goals by optimizing resources and reducing risks.
  • build a skilled local workforce capable of leading future innovations.

These outcomes support enterprises as they transition to more resilient, data-driven, and digitally mature operating models.

The road ahead

ITC Infotech is a wholly owned subsidiary of ITC Limited, one of India’s largest conglomerates, with over 25 years of experience as a trusted technology services partner to enterprises globally. The company focuses on next-generation enterprise transformation, delivering services across infrastructure and application modernization, cloud, cybersecurity, digital engineering, and AI-led innovation.

As Saudi Arabia continues its digital journey, ITC Infotech’s combination of global expertise, strong local presence, and collaborative delivery model positions it as a long-term partner in advancing Vision 2030. ITC Infotech’s hub in Riyadh reflects this commitment, bringing advanced capabilities closer to customers, investing in local talent, and enabling enterprises to adopt AI at scale as they compete in an increasingly digital world.