Published: Sunday, October 16, 2011
GITEX Shopper, which concluded on Saturday, is expected to record over Dh190 million total sales after eight busy days.
Last year the Shopper recorded Dh175 million sales and this year major retailers see a double-digit growth in sales compared to last year. It means the show will comfortably cross Dh190 million sales mark, according to Khaleej Times conservative estimates after talking to a few big retailers at the show.
Last year GITEX Shopper sales witnessed an increase of 40 per cent over 2009. The sales reached Dh125 million in 2009, Dh112 million in 2008 and Dh97 million in 2007, according to the data available at the organiser’s website.
The show brings together over 100 power retailers and leading technology names. CompuMe, Dell, du, etisalat, E4U, Emax, HP, Jacky’s Electronics, Jumbo, Lenovo, Panasonic, Samsung and Sharaf DG are just a few of the leading brands and retailers who are offering amazing offers at the show.
Exhibitors look confident to achieve their own targets of a double-digit growth in sales this year over 2010 as every passing day they recorded increasing footfall.
“Last three days are the best in terms of footfalls and sales and we are expected achieve our targets,” some retailers told Khaleej Times a few hours before the close of the final day.
They said it’s very difficult to give exact sales figures in the middle of the final day, but for sure its much better than last year.
“We will issue final numbers in a week or 10 days after receiving closing sales figures from exhibitors,” Hemesh Chandavarkar, Exhibition Director, Dubai World Trade Centre, told Khaleej Times on Saturday.
While declining to provide any specific number regarding sales this year, he said: “Last year it [sales] was Dh175 million and the trends are similar. So either the same or better.”
He mentioned that the last couple of days were fabulous and since morning today [Saturday] “we have seen great footfall coming into the event.”
“What we noticed is that quality of people improved a lot as people are buying higher-value products this year and its good for all,” he said.
“All retailers look pretty happy with footfalls and sales. Well, this year they have more festive offers and atmosphere. We have seen retailers and brand really going strong. At the end of the day its consumer show and consumer is winning that means objective of the show has been achieved,” he added. “We are finishing it with big bang in the night,” he said confidently.
Jacky’s Electronics, the UAE’s leading multi-brand consumer electronics retailer, expects a double-digit growth in sales over last year. It also increased its space by 20 per cent this year.
“Its very difficult to give sales number as we will get final figures on closing tonight, but our target was 10-12 per cent growth and it seems achievable,” Ashish Panjabi, Chief Operating Officer, Jacky’s Electronics, commented on the final day of the show.
Panjabi mentioned that so far it looks good and the weekend was very hectic here. “Visitors we saw on Friday are more than any other day in the whole show. There are genuine buyers and specially during the last three days we saw a lot of families at the show,” he said. “I think its in line what we are looking for. At our expectation for sure. Final figures will be available in the night after the closing. There was growth on each day.
He said Ultrabooks and Intel Core i5 laptops across all brands are among the blockbuster products at Jacky’s stand. Meanwhile, Jacky’s sales for DSLR category in the first four days of GITEX Shopper has already exceeded last year’s total sales for the same category, while high-end LED TVs above 40-inch segment were sold in good numbers as well.
Plug-Ins General Manager Omar Abu Shaban said: “We were looking for about 30 per cent growth before the show, but the trend shows we will cross 40 per cent mark over last year easily.”
“It was very good this year. It has been good week and month for us and we are happy with the outcome of the show,” he added.
Tablets and smart phones did well, he said, adding: “We put together some valuable bundle offer with smart phones and customers responded very well.”
Jumbo Electronics, the UAE-based consumer electronics giant, on Saturday announced record foot-falls and sales at GITEX Shopper with the company on track for a between 10 and 15 per cent growth, outperforming last year’s results.
Nadeem Khanzadah, Deputy General Manager Retail at Jumbo Electronics, said, “The first few days of GITEX Shopper have been extremely encouraging. We have seen a phenomenal response to our laptop promotions and tablets, which account for majority of our sales so far — around 60 per cent in terms of volume. Our smart phones and 3DTV’s have also performed really well.”
Jumbo has teamed up with its key partners with fun activities for visitors at GITEX Shopper.” Tie-ups with our partners Fujitsu and Acer have proven to be extremely popular and are key highlights to this year’s Shopper,” said Khanzadah.
At the Fujitsu stand, visitors have had the giant task of sparring live with a Sumo warrior from Japan. Through the activity, Fujitsu is giving a free laptop to any visitor that can win a round against the wrestler.
Acer is displaying the Ducati Mobile throughout Shopper and is even giving visitors a chance to win the phone through a raffle.
At GITEX Shopper, Jumbo is currently giving away accessories valued at Dh750 with a purchase of a new laptop, including a 500 GB hard drive, a multifunction colour printer and many more accessories.
The event attracts visitors not just from the Middle East but also from North Africa and the subcontinent. GITEX Shopper attracts the biggest names in the retail sector, with unique launches and special offers across the best technology, communication and entertainment products. Loyal buyers await this shopping bonanza year after year for exclusive deals and bundled offers which are not available anywhere else.