A under-construction mall in Doha hopes to woo shoppers with a modern take on a traditional Qatari souq, selling clothes, food and spices.

Tawar Mall in Al Duhail named several new retailers yesterday that will be among the more than 300 shops and restaurants inside the shopping center, which is scheduled to open by the end of this year.

They include an official Real Madrid store, footwear fashion retailer Högl, Buono Chocolates, Lovely Lace Baby, Salamander – which specializes in shoes, bags and accessories – and Villa Queen.

The indoor souq will contain 65 small kiosks focused on selling traditional Qatari cultural products and will also host festivals for Ramadan, Eid, and Qatar National Day.

Tawar Mall officials previously said the shopping center will also include a branch of Dutch hypermarket chain Spar, a cinema and a family entertainment area designed as a mock giant toy factory.

A video rendering of the new mall also shows several outdoor and rooftop patio areas:

Competition

Qatar’s retail and entertainment options are slated to multiply in the coming months as several malls race to put the finishing touches on their facilities.

These include the Mall of Qatar, which plans to open in late October, and Doha Festival City, which will open in February. Additionally, the high-end Al Hazm Mall is looking to open for Eid, a spokesperson told Doha News.

Tawar Mall will also face competition with several existing malls. Located at the intersection of Al Markhiya and Arab League streets, it’s less than 2 kilometers from Landmark Mall, Ezdan Mall and Gulf Mall.

Tawar Mall chairperson Jassim Bin Tawar Al Kuwari acknowledged the competition at a press conference yesterday, but said he was confident that the shopping center would be able to distinguish itself:

“All the malls in the area offer something different, and that is a good thing. The entertainment zone and traditional souq make us different compared to these malls,” he said.

Thoughts?