# Advise on starting a business in Dubai mall



## Shelly1 (Jan 24, 2015)

Hi, could anyone help me on how I can open a business in Dubai mall?


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## Stevesolar (Dec 21, 2012)

Hi,
Welcome to the forum.
What sort of business diid you have in mind?
Do you have very deep pockets? - because you will be needing them!
Dubai Mall is currently the biggest in the world and has a waiting list for shops - as many companies want to have a flagship store there to boast about.
Shop rents are amongst the highest in the world - currently around 6000 AED per sq. m
The mall is owned by Emaar and they have an enquiry department that you can contact:-

Leasing Enquiries » The Dubai Mall
Cheers
Steve


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## Froglet (May 7, 2014)

There is actually a waiting list as well since many companies want to open shops but there simply isn't enough space.. Can you imagine?!?!


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## Mr Rossi (May 16, 2009)

You'll need to form an LLC company first but, as mentioned, you'll struggle to get a unit. There's a waiting list and sole enterprises will be continuously passed over.


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## Shelly1 (Jan 24, 2015)

ok dubai mall seems very dear, i think i should start up elsewhere in dubai 
i want to rent car park space to open a car valeting service maybe in jbr new district car park
who do go to with my business plan?

thank you all for the replies


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## TallyHo (Aug 21, 2011)

You're not really from the UK, are you?

Not that it matters. I'm pretty sure the current car valeting companies have a lock on the market. The question to ask yourself is why a reputable developer should choose you over any of the existing valeting companies? If you can answer that question, then contact the property developers themselves. 





Shelly1 said:


> ok dubai mall seems very dear, i think i should start up elsewhere in dubai
> i want to rent car park space to open a car valeting service maybe in jbr new district car park
> who do go to with my business plan?
> 
> thank you all for the replies


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## The Rascal (Aug 6, 2014)

Shelly1 said:


> ok dubai mall seems very dear, i think i should start up elsewhere in dubai
> i want to rent car park space to open a car valeting service maybe in jbr new district car park
> who do go to with my business plan?
> 
> thank you all for the replies


Plenty of car washing companies, I pay a guy AED100/month, every morning my car is cleaned - well dusted i guess, but recently they've had to earn their money what with the weather etc.


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## Stevesolar (Dec 21, 2012)

TallyHo said:


> You're not really from the UK.


How do you know?


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## twowheelsgood (Feb 21, 2013)

No one from the UK would come to Dubai to start a car valet business in a saturated market would be my guess ?


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## Stevesolar (Dec 21, 2012)

twowheelsgood said:


> No one from the UK would come to Dubai to start a car valet business in a saturated market would be my guess ?


Well you may be right on the business front - but they are located in the UK!


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## twowheelsgood (Feb 21, 2013)

The standard of business acumen is clearly slipping I think  Or on a You know what with a UK IP address


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## Shelly1 (Jan 24, 2015)

I am from the uk Birmingham West Midlands, I understand it is very difficult to get a job without a degree and I want to make something for myself, not just work for someone which might be great but that's just me. And I'm not offering to dust people's car I'm offering a 45min interior clean + exterior, proper hand wash and to finish it off Autoglym polish on every car to restore paintwork 
Check out h20 car wash in bullring Birmingham, and it will give you an idea what I want to do,
A mid priced professional car wash where every car comes out immaculate,bringing the paintwork back to life not just a wipe with a dusty cloth.


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## twowheelsgood (Feb 21, 2013)

Good for you.

That costs about 20AED in Dubai and with all the dust around, nobody is going to go for Autoglym every week. A complete, total strip down of the everything inside and out costs 100AED and takes three people about an hour between them.

For our apartment building for example, an additional space is 5,000AED per year.

Thats the first 250 cars to pay for the parking space, then there's the cost of accommodation for you - say 100,000 AED per annum and thats 5,000 more cars before you break even, on those two items alone.

You need to do some real calculations as car wash business does not support a western lifestyle.

People do not pay a lot for car washes no matter how much you tart up the description.


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## Shelly1 (Jan 24, 2015)

I'm thinking 300AED per car which includes:

Power jet wash, with good quality soap, a good hand wash 
Dry with shami cloths including inside doors and boot 
Wheel scrubbed clean and tyre shine
Vacuum interior and boot
Spray and scrub every bit of plastics including dashboard 
Spray and scrub all windows without leaving any smudges 
Insert air freshener 
Polish full car Autoglym polish 

Would you pay 300AED for that service?
Every car has to be done perfect and completed in 30-40mins


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## Shelly1 (Jan 24, 2015)

Sorry I was typing and never read ur message
Wow really that cheap 
I seen a few detailing company's charging 350 - 1000dhs per car 
I was thinking offering everybody a service that allows them to get their car cleaned properly and
with a polish in a short space of time 
My target was 20 cars per day minimum at 300dhs


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## Shelly1 (Jan 24, 2015)

Quote:
Originally Posted by Vetteguy 
I work with a guy who takes his car to Wheel2Wheel and he is happy. He said they will wash, hand wax and polish exterior for 125 so interior should be alot less than 600 you got quoted. I am taking my car there next weekend it needs a waxing really bad.
125AED is just for the wax and polish, how much is the actual wash?
I have seen similar deals with the entire detail happening for around AED900, so maybe his AED600 is correct, but still not willing to pay that much to get the carpets cleaned.


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## Shelly1 (Jan 24, 2015)

twowheelsgood said:


> Good for you.
> 
> That costs about 20AED in Dubai and with all the dust around, nobody is going to go for Autoglym every week. A complete, total strip down of the everything inside and out costs 100AED and takes three people about an hour between them.
> 
> ...


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## Stevesolar (Dec 21, 2012)

Hi,
I think a bit of a reality check is needed here!
There is a very wide range of car cleaning services available in Dubai.
You have the typical handyman who looks after a compound or apartment. They usually charge 100 AED per month and ours would wash the car three times a week - i provided the soap, sponge and chamois (at least you knew what products they were using then.)
Malls typically have a near waterless trolley based system - they typically charge about 25AED to scratch your car! - i would not touch them with a bargepole!
Then you have petrol stations. Depending on the petrol company - some have a pretty good brushless wash system that the car goes through. You then drive to the vacuum bay - a team descends on the car inside and out. They remove all the mats - shake and vacuum them, vacuum inside the car, get the dust off the dash and give that a bit of a polish. Dry outside of the car, clean the wheels and apply tyre black. Whole service takes around 20 minutes and costs a very reasonable 30 to 35 AED. This is your real competition - as most people see this as good value for what you get.
The water in the UAE is desalinated seawater and it has very high total dissolved solids. After a few months, if you rub your hand over your car paintwork - even when clean and polished, it has a very rough feel - due to the salts in the water.
This is extremely difficult and time consuming to remedy and there is a market (and current providers) to do this service. It is a bit expensive 600 AED - and most people dont bother.
Real car nuts who want the ultimate finish will do it themselves.
If they own supercars - then they will have a man that will do it for them (driver, houseboy etc.)
You are therefore targeting an expensive proposition into a market saturated by cheaper offerings that people are already satisfied with.
Best of luck
Steve


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## Shelly1 (Jan 24, 2015)

Thanks Steve, 
I have seen them trolley boys wipe a dusty rag on cars scratching them and if the car is too dirty they can't do it, also I'm not to sure if they can clean the inside that's what gave me the idea of opening a proper car wash as they are so many nice cars there I thought they would appreciate a good job and I know everyone has cheap labour at their fingertips I just thought people would appreciate the service done properly.
I mean there is a lot of wealthy people there and I usually spend 300+ on a meal for 2 
There a few angles were I haven't thought through properly thank you again
For your input


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## Gavtek (Aug 23, 2009)

Your main problem will be renting car parking spaces in a busy mall. This will be prime real estate as most mall car parks are full to capacity on weekends. Finding a mall who will even entertain your business will be a big hurdle, especially as most of them already have exclusive contracts with companies that operate the guys with the trollies. The fact you'd be offering a premium service would not matter, it's still competition.

Secondly, if you're planning on using a power washer, you'll need a number of parking spaces just to do one single car as standard parking spaces are barely wide enough to get a malnourished chap with a dusty rag to wipe down the sides.

Thirdly, you'd need a constant power and water supply, and I don't think either of these are readily available in most public car parking areas, hence the guys with trollies and buckets of water they refill periodically. 

Fourthly, you'd need a decent level of insurance if you're going to work on people's cars, and be trusted with their keys. You'll soon end up compensating people out of your pocket for stuff that goes missing from their cars whether it actually happened or not.

Fifthly, your labour, where are you going to get them from? You'd need to provide housing and transport for them, they'd need to be trained to a high standard and still require heavy supervision for for the salary you'll be paying them, they're not going to care about the difference between a 4 star finish and a 5 star finish, to them a clean car will be a clean car. If corners can be cut, they will be, and so will your reputation.

Sixthly, with the competition out there, I don't think people are going to be willing to pay AED 300 for a half hour car wash while they do a bit of shopping. AED 100 would be your maximum, so you'd need to adjust the service offering to accommodate that. Again, this brings you closer to the trolley guys who currently have exclusive contracts.

It's not a terrible idea overall, it's something I'd be interested in, but the reality of it means that you're going to end up with very high fixed costs and be forced to operate out of a fairly poor location. That's usually enough to see most businesses fail despite how good their product/service is.


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## Froglet (May 7, 2014)

What Steve is saying is spot on

It's sad to see such valuable advice simply going in one ear and out the other. I don't think anyone can convince Shelly that she has some stiff competition, no USP or strong brand backing her. Getting into this market will be tough as you deal with various segments who are mostly not interested in your business... 

Anyway, nothing will change your mind, so see you soon in Dubai!


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## arabianhorse (Nov 13, 2013)

twowheelsgood said:


> No one from the UK would come to Dubai to start a car valet business in a saturated market would be my guess ?


Hahahaha Good one.

So no bad business persons in the UK ?


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## Shelly1 (Jan 24, 2015)

Thank you all for your advise the reason I'm on here,
I have taken everything into account of what you guys have told me,
And it's been really helpful and made me question myself will it work.
I am man by the way, who has experience in working for a top end car wash when younger and now have the capital to start my own just thought I could offer this service to Dubai


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