Vindico Retail gets 'Gossip Street X Dubai' open and earning

Gossip Street X Dubai opened at La Mer on 17 February, the latest outlet in the Gossip Cafe & Desserts chain, with Vindico Retail representing the brand through design, fit-out and landlord approvals.

The chain is led by Dr Shayma Nawaf Mohamed Ali Fawwaz, named Best Businesswoman of 2017 at the Mohammed Bin Rashid Awards for Young Business Leaders.

This was our first outlet where Vindico worked with us on managing the design and fitout. It was a success, particularly in how the Vindico team helped us navigate the landlord's approvals process, something they understand very well.
Vikram Rajan, Operations Manager, Gossip

The appointment marks a deliberate change of side. As tenant coordination specialists, Vindico has supported retailers and their brands in opening over 9,000 shops and restaurants by acting as the point of contact into their landlords' design, fit-out and approvals processes. Richard Kim, Managing Director, describes managing design and fit-out directly for brands as the logical move as the line between landlord and tenant blurs — pairing the value a good project manager brings to a brand with the firm's expertise in tenant coordination.

Nihad Muzamil, Senior Retail Delivery Manager, oversees Vindico's brand services. He says the team has examined the retail delivery process from both the landlord and tenant perspectives to find the overlaps between project management and tenant coordination, and that there are enough of them to create value for both sides where the roles run concurrently. At La Mer the tenant coordinators were also Vindico, which is what allowed the gap between landlord and tenant to be closed.

Vindico's role covered design, fit-out and approvals management on behalf of the brand. The unit was built by the brand's contractors, and the property is owned and operated by Meraas.