Islamic retail has significant development potential in Azerbaijan, Vice President of the Dubai Chamber of Commerce Hisham Abdulla Al Shirawi said during a round table in Baku on April 21.

The round table was devoted to the development of retail and franchising, organized as part of a visit of a delegation of the Dubai Chamber (an organization engaged in the development of the business environment and the protection of business interests of the United Arab Emirates).

“Currently, the so-called halal retail is about 10 percent of the global retail sale volume,” he said. “Muslims spent $224 billion on Islamic clothing and footwear in 2012. This figure will rise to $324 billion in the next few years, according to the forecasts. As for cosmetics, Islamic retail volumes in this area amounted to $ 26 billion in 2012. The market will increase up to $ 39 billion by 2018, according to the forecasts.”

“Dubai is one of the largest global players in retail business and the world’s second largest retail trade center,” he said.

“With one of the emirate’s largest shopping malls, over 75 million people visited Dubai Mall in 2013, which is 15 percent more than in 2012,” he said. “We have rich experience and best practice for the development of retail and franchising. We are ready to share it with our Azerbaijani counterparts.”