For those of you who may think the ‘Dubai stone’ is another symbol of man-made greatness, in Dubai, the term ‘Dubai stone’ is refered to the extra weight that one seems to innocently gain by virtue of being here. And while the weight gain fact is supported by the obesity rate in this part of the world, the reason may be slightly more complicated than just being here.
So you’ve shopped away for a good three-four hours, just worked off the breakfast, and your feet need a break. That’s when you notice there is no seating in the common area of the malls. You head to the coffee shop and obligingly order the mandatory F & B that allows you to park yourself in their soft, comfy seats. And you may think this all innocent, but no, malls actually plan their F&B stops to cater to the breaks you may need while shopping.
On another day, you may have to meet a potential boss or employee, depending on where you lie in the food chain (!) and where are you going to have that conversation?
Conversations that involve firing, conversations that involve break ups, discussions about mergers and discussions about new ideas, gossip about who did not get invited to the latest do as well as the latest do – all these happen around F&B.
And then it becomes habit-forming. The 108 Starbucks and over 80 Costas in UAE, make themselves available right there, every time you need to sit and converse. In 2012, UAE consumed over 670 million cups of coffee (Euromonitor) and while I am sure H, L and I have had a major share of that, we also have had a major share of the muffins and cheese twists and chocolate doughnuts that go with the coffee.
After all, where else can you go and talk for hours about the house and the job and everything else in between without actually being there?!
