The 2,000m’ Virgin megastore – slated to open at the Opera House downtown next summer – is set to prove that, when it comes to retail, bigger is better. Shops in Lebanon are small by international standards. Despite all the post-war new build there are, for example, only 13 supermarkets above 3,000m’. And the CD market is far less developed than the food market. To date, record shops have all been small – with the exception of the Media Store in Dunes, which is 1500m’. Mario Haddad, who runs the Media Store, reportedly spent $1 million furbishing the shop. Haddad’s Top Ten record chaiq claims 40% of Lebanon’s CD market. The Virgin store represents a $5 million investment. The franchise is 55% owned by Jihad Murr, the executive manager of Murr TV, and 45% by Marwan Kheireddin, vice chairman and general manager of Al-Mawarid Bank. Solidere favored the higher social
