Last season and next season
The two ranges that are not selling this month. Between them they are usually most of the backroom.
Retail Stock Storage in Dubai
A stockroom in a Dubai mall is the most expensive storage in the country, and most of what is in it has not moved for months. Getting the slow half of it out is one of the highest-return uses of business storage in Dubai.
The arrangement is straightforward: seasonal and slow-moving ranges go offsite, the backroom holds only what replenishes the floor this week, and stock is called forward as the season turns.
Storage is AED 12.65 per sq ft per month, VAT included — a figure worth putting directly next to your rent per square foot, because the comparison is usually not close.
The arithmetic that makes this obvious
Work out your rent per square foot per month, including service charge. Then work out roughly what proportion of your backroom holds stock that has not moved in sixty days. Multiply.
For most Dubai retail — mall or high street — that number is considerably larger than the storage cost of the same square footage, and the gap widens the better the location. A prime mall unit is paying premium retail rates to warehouse last season's range.
The second saving is less obvious and often larger: a backroom that is not full works better. Stock is findable, deliveries can be received without a Tetris problem, and staff spend less time moving boxes to reach other boxes.
The third is that it makes seasonal buying less frightening. Ranges can be bought when the price is right rather than when there is space for them, and held offsite until the season turns.
What retailers move offsite first
Event and campaign stock
Ramadan, back-to-school, DSF and Christmas ranges bought early and needed for a defined window.
Fixtures, display and VM
Mannequins, shelving, seasonal display units and signage between campaigns. Bulky, valuable and never needed at once.
Bulk purchases
Volume buys made on price rather than on space. Held offsite and called forward as the floor needs them.
Setting it up without disrupting trade
Do this once, properly, and it runs itself.
- 1
Split the backroom by velocity — This week's replenishment stays; sixty-days-untouched goes. Do not split by category.
- 2
Collect outside trading hours — Mall loading bays have windows and permits — tell us the centre and we will work to them.
- 3
Count it in against your SKUs — So your stock system and the offsite balance agree from day one. Inventory storage covers the discipline.
- 4
Call forward as the season turns — Normally 24–48 hours' notice. Plan the seasonal changeover a week ahead rather than the night before.
Common questions
Normally within 24 to 48 hours of a request. For a seasonal changeover, plan a week ahead — a full range coming forward at once is a larger job than a replenishment.
Yes. Most Dubai malls have defined delivery windows and require a permit or a registered vehicle. Tell us the centre when booking and it is arranged rather than discovered.
Those are among the most worthwhile things to store — bulky, valuable, and only needed for defined campaigns. Wrapped and racked they store well between seasons.
Count everything in against your own SKU references at the start and log every release against them. Stock that goes offsite without being counted properly is stock whose number is wrong from then on.
Compare AED 12.65 per sq ft per month against your rent plus service charge per square foot. For most Dubai retail locations it is not a close comparison, and the better the location the wider the gap.
Yes, and deliveries can go to different branches from the same stock. Say so at setup so releases can be requested per branch rather than being untangled afterwards.
More in Business Storage Dubai
Everything below is part of the same service — pick the page that matches what you are storing.
Inventory storageStock held with counts that reconcile to your own numbers.Warehouse storageWarehouse space without the lease or the fit-out.Exhibition & event storageStands, displays and event kit between shows, delivered to the hall.E-commerce storageStock received, held and released for online sellers.
Paying mall rent for cardboard?
Work out your rent per square foot, then look at what has not moved in sixty days.
+971 50 577 3388 · support@safestorage.ae · from 12.65 AED per sq ft, VAT included