A single-unit retail store in Dubai can open with a complete, respectable print and packaging kit for about AED 3,900, and a properly branded one for around AED 8,200. The spread is almost entirely bags and signage: 100 ready-made A4 paper bags with one-colour printing are AED 850, while 100 fully printed 250 GSM art matt bags are AED 1,950. This checklist runs through every item a new Dubai shop actually needs, in the order you should order it, with real prices and the lead times that decide whether you open on the date on your tenancy contract.
Order in three waves, not one
The single most expensive mistake in a retail fit-out is ordering everything at once, six weeks out, before the fit-out is finished. Measurements change, the landlord rejects a sign, the shelving arrives 100 mm deeper than drawn. Split your print into three waves:
- Wave one — long-lead and landlord-approved items: external signage, 3D letters, anything the mall or building management has to sign off. Order 5–6 weeks before opening.
- Wave two — packaging and consumables: shopping bags, boxes, stickers, labels. These have minimum quantities and production runs. Order 3–4 weeks out.
- Wave three — measured and dated items: window graphics, wall vinyl, shelf and till signage, opening-offer posters. Order 7–10 days out, after the fit-out is physically complete and you can measure.
Wave three is where most shops over-order in advance and then throw it away. Resist it.
Wave one: the storefront
The fascia sign
This is the item with the longest approval chain in Dubai. Mall tenants submit artwork to the mall's tenant coordination team; street-level units in most areas need building management and municipality approval. Start this before anything else, because the sign's production is quick and the approval is not. Dimensional options run from 3D acrylic signage at AED 1,150 through to stainless steel and backlit builds — our 3D letter signage guide compares the materials and what each survives outdoors in a Dubai summer.
The A-board or pavement sign
For street-facing and community-retail units, a spring A-board at 80 x 115 cm costs AED 900 and carries interchangeable posters. Check your tenancy terms first; many malls prohibit anything outside the lease line, and several community developments require a permit.
Window graphics
Decide early whether the windows carry permanent branding or rotating campaign graphics, because they take different materials. Permanent frosted and cut-vinyl work gets ordered in wave one; campaign graphics belong in wave three. The window, wall and floor sticker guide sets out the material grades and what survives direct sun on a west-facing shopfront.
Wave two: packaging, the thing customers take home
Your bag leaves the mall, goes into a car, sits in a kitchen and gets photographed. Per dirham, it is the most-seen print you will buy. Three tiers, all real prices:
Entry tier — ready-made bags with a logo
AED 850 for 100 A4 ready-made bags, 250 GSM, one-colour print, or AED 900 for the A3 size. The bag body is stock; your logo is printed on it. Fastest turnaround, lowest spend, and the right choice for a store testing a concept.
Mid tier — fully printed custom bags
AED 1,950 for 100 paper bags at 250 GSM art matt, printed edge to edge in your artwork. This is where a store starts looking like a brand rather than a unit.
Premium tier — euro and signature bags
AED 1,420 for 100 euro premium black bags, 13 x 22 x 8 cm, 250 GSM with gold metallic print, dropping to AED 2,470 for 500 — AED 4.94 per bag at the higher quantity versus AED 14.20 at 100. Larger signature shopping bags in A4 vertical 24 x 32 x 8 cm start at AED 1,940, and the small 18 x 18 x 7 cm size from AED 1,580.
Read that per-bag maths carefully, because it is the single biggest saving available to a new store. Going from 100 to 500 euro bags costs AED 1,050 more and gets you 400 extra bags — AED 2.63 each. Work out your realistic weekly transaction count, multiply by twelve weeks, and buy that quantity rather than the smallest pack. Our bag cost comparison runs the same numbers across non-woven, paper and jute.
Boxes for anything fragile or shipped
If you sell breakables, or you will ship from the store, 100 corrugated boxes at 35 x 25 x 10 cm with black print are AED 1,500. For e-commerce fulfilment out of the shop, see the mailer and shipping box guide.
Wave two continued: stickers and labels
Stickers are the cheapest branding in retail and the most under-ordered. They close bags, seal tissue paper, go on product bases, mark promotions and cover packaging you did not design.
- 1,000 economy stickers, glossy laminated, 80 GSM — AED 350 (AED 0.35 each). The default bag seal.
- 1,000 transparent PVC stickers 5 x 5 cm — AED 410. For sealing without a visible white square.
- 250 die-cut vinyl stickers 8 x 8 cm — AED 345. Shaped, waterproof, for product and giveaway use.
- 1,000 gold foil stickers — AED 460. The AED 110 upgrade that makes a plain kraft bag look considered.
If you are selling a product with ingredients, weights, barcodes or an expiry date, that is a different job with different material requirements — see the product label printing guide for waterproof stock and roll versus sheet. For chillers and fridges, a full-coverage grab-and-go chiller sticker is AED 1,050.
Wave three: in-store, measured on site
- Wall vinyl lettering — AED 95: opening hours, a brand line, the fitting-room direction.
- Wall stickers and decals — AED 75: the cheapest way to fill a blank wall before you can afford art.
- Pillar branding — AED 145: for units with a structural column mid-floor.
- Indoor wall signage — AED 395, and an acrylic till or reception sign — AED 750.
- 15 custom A4 posters — AED 140: opening offers, price points, care instructions.
- Round dangler 60 x 60 cm — AED 210, or four 15 x 15 cm danglers — AED 220. More on shelf-level print in the in-store POS printing guide.
- Roll-up banner 85 x 200 cm — AED 190: the one item you will reuse at every event, mall activation and pop-up for the next two years.
The till point
Three small items that drive repeat business more reliably than any sign. 1,000 matt-laminated business cards with rounded corners are AED 159 and 500 matt-laminated 350 GSM cards are AED 99 — put them in every bag, not just in the manager's wallet. Then add a stamp or loyalty card (see the loyalty and stamp card guide) and branded till rolls (the thermal receipt roll guide covers sizes and back-printing). Flyers for the opening week start from AED 120 for A5 at 135 GSM, or AED 270 for 1,000 A5 at 170 GSM.
Two complete opening kits with real prices
| Item | Lean kit (AED) | Branded kit (AED) |
|---|---|---|
| 3D acrylic fascia signage | 1,150 | 1,150 |
| Acrylic till / reception sign | — | 750 |
| Indoor wall signage | 395 | 395 |
| Wall vinyl lettering | 95 | 95 |
| Pillar branding | — | 145 |
| Danglers (1 x 60 cm + 4 x 15 cm) | — | 430 |
| Spring A-board (S) | 900 | 900 |
| Roll-up banner 85 x 200 cm | — | 190 |
| Shopping bags | 850 (100 ready-made A4) | 3,370 (100 art matt + 100 euro premium) |
| Stickers | 350 (1,000 economy) | 870 (1,000 transparent + 1,000 gold foil) |
| Business cards | 159 (1,000) | 159 (1,000) |
| Opening flyers | — | 270 (1,000 A5, 170 GSM) |
| Total | 3,899 | 8,724 |
All prices in AED, VAT inclusive. Neither kit includes design time, and neither includes uniforms — budget separately for staff polos or aprons.
Lead times that decide your opening date
- External signage: 7–10 working days to produce, but add 2–4 weeks for mall or municipality approval. This is the critical path.
- Custom printed paper bags: 10–14 working days. Ready-made bags with a logo print: 4–7 working days.
- Stickers and labels: 3–5 working days; foiled and die-cut add a day or two.
- Wall and window vinyl, posters, danglers: 2–4 working days from final measurements.
- Business cards and flyers: 2–3 working days.
If your opening date is tighter than that, read what is genuinely achievable in our same-day and next-day printing guide before you promise the landlord a date.
How to order
- Send the opening date first. We work the production calendar backwards from it and tell you which items need deciding this week.
- Send a floor plan or photos of the unit — even phone photos during fit-out. It prevents the two classic errors: a sign wider than the fascia and a window graphic that lands on a mullion.
- Send your logo as vector artwork (AI, EPS or PDF). A JPG from a website cannot be cut into vinyl or printed on a bag at full size.
- Give realistic bag quantities. Weekly transactions x 12 weeks, rounded to the next price break.
- Confirm one delivery address and one contact on site. During fit-out, nobody is at the shop at 2 pm.
WhatsApp +971 52 210 0909 or call 0522100909 with your opening date and unit size, and you will get an itemised kit and a production schedule.
Frequently asked questions
What is the absolute minimum print a new Dubai shop needs on day one?
A fascia sign, a bag, and a business card. Everything else can follow in week two. Realistically that is AED 1,150 for 3D acrylic signage, AED 850 for 100 ready-made A4 bags and AED 159 for 1,000 business cards — AED 2,159. Opening without a bag is the only genuine emergency on this list.
How many shopping bags should I order for a new store?
Estimate weekly transactions, multiply by twelve weeks, and buy to the next price break. Bags are the one item where buying small is expensively false economy: 100 euro premium bags cost AED 14.20 each, while 500 cost AED 4.94 each. If you genuinely cannot forecast, buy 100 custom bags for the first month and place the larger order once you have four weeks of till data.
Do I need approval for my shop signage in Dubai?
Almost always. Mall units go through tenant coordination; street-level units typically need building owner consent plus a municipality sign permit. Requirements vary by emirate, by free zone and by individual mall, so ask your landlord's fit-out pack for the sign specification before you commission artwork. Production is fast; approval is not.
Can I print bags without a minimum quantity?
Not for fully custom bags — the die and print setup need a run. The lowest realistic entry is 100 pieces, which is why ready-made bags with logo printing exist at AED 850 for 100. Our MOQ guide explains why the minimums exist and where they can be worked around.
Are prices VAT inclusive, and do you deliver to malls?
Yes, every price shown is in AED including 5% UAE VAT, with a tax invoice issued against your TRN. Delivery covers Dubai, Sharjah and the Northern Emirates, with Abu Dhabi and Al Ain adding a day. Mall deliveries during fit-out usually need a loading bay slot and a contractor pass from the mall — send us the mall's delivery rules with the order and we will work to them.
What should I not order before the fit-out is finished?
Anything measured: window graphics, wall vinyl, shelf strips, till-counter signage and anything sized to a fixture. Order those in wave three, from site measurements, after the shopfitter has left. The items safe to order early are bags, stickers, business cards, flyers and the fascia sign.
Open on time
Send your opening date and unit details and we will build the kit around both. Browse live prices in Paper Bags and Stickers & Labels, and if you are also fitting out an office alongside the store, our Dubai startup print kit covers the corporate side.
WhatsApp +971 52 210 0909 · Call 0522100909 — Dubai-based, delivery across the UAE.
