( CNN ) -- Mohammed Alshaya owns more high street brands than most fashion addicts could stuff in their closets . Mohammed Alshaya , CEO of Alshaya 's retail division , tells MME he sees a new mindset in the Gulf . Topshop , Coast , NEXT and River Island are just some of the big names he 's imported from the United Kingdom to shopping centers in the Middle East . As chief executive of M.H . Alshaya , he knows what sells : tried and tested Western brands that will appeal to local shoppers . And his empire is not limited to clothing . In the past month , he 's taken Mothercare and The Body Shop to Central Eastern Europe . With the addition of the Czech Republic , Hungary and Slovakia , M.H . Alshaya now operates in 16 markets including Saudi Arabia , Kuwait , United Arab Emirates , Bahrain , Qatar , Oman , Lebanon , Jordan , Egypt , Cyprus , Turkey , Poland and Russia . John Defterios spoke with Mohammed Alshaya , and started by asking him for his thoughts on the Gulf Cooperation Council ( GCC ) plans for a single currency . ( JD ) : I would imagine as a retail operation you 'd be a huge proponent of a single currency within the GCC . Is it realistic within the next 4 to 5 years ? ( MA ) : I think it can be , as long as there is a will of the leaders to get together and decide . It is a huge leap towards efficiency , conciliation , getting closer between the six countries . One single Central Bank that governs and regulates is much better than the current six , I believe . ( JD ) : Have you ever done any calculations of what impact it would have on your back office operations ? ( MA ) : Not yet , but it will be great , I think . ( JD ) : You 're one of the largest retail operations throughout the Arabian Peninsula . With all this growth that we 're seeing right now , it must have a direct impact on the retail sector . What sort of annual growth are you experiencing ? ( MA ) : We 're experiencing close to 25 percent annual growth , if not 30 percent in some cases , like in Dubai . ( JD ) : Do you have any sort of concerns that this is going to be a bubble like the 1970s where the money was not deployed correctly ? It seems different from my vantage point , do you share that view ? ( MA ) : There is a new generation of people from the region that are leading businesses and strong leadership in the government that have mitigated any concern . And if you see now the statistics , the Gulf is the seventh largest economy in the world . In ten , in 15 years time , it will be the fifth . So I see a new mindset , a new attitude . ( JD ) : One of the other things I wanted to ask you about is your moves into other countries . The Alshaya group is very well known throughout the Arabian Peninsula , but you 're moving into other markets , into Eastern Europe , specifically into Russia . Do you have the expertise to go into these markets ? ( MA ) : Well , yes . We have the expertise , and the expertise is by really retaining good management , and traveling with them into new markets . I 'm not going to open shops myself . We have a very strong team in Russia ; Russians that are taking our investment into good projects like Starbucks which we opened two months ago , two stores . We acquired a business there . So we have plans like Mothercare , Bodyshop , NEXT . ( JD ) : So you can basically move this group into any city and have that potpourri of offers ? ( MA ) : We have the software . We have the software to launch the retail portfolio into a new market . ( JD ) : Obviously you 're a family business . You feel quite strongly about preserving culture and the family structure , and the need for family businesses to create jobs , because they represent 75 percent of all turnover in the Gulf . ( MA ) : We have a social responsibility toward our people . We have to make sure we have jobs for them if the government is not going to compete , and is going to take away some of the people who would be relevant to our business . Another issue that might challenge us to do that is the wealth creation -- whether ( potential employees ) would be attracted to be in a department store selling or in a coffee shop making coffee -- that , we will see . E-mail to a friend .
MME speaks with Mohammed Alshaya , CEO of M.H . E 's retail division . Retail division seeing annual growth of 10 percent , up to 30 percent in Dubai . # ##ing Home , Mothercare , Body Shop into Eastern Europe , Russia . On GCC single currency : It is a huge leap towards efficiency , conciliation .