Jacky’s opens 3rd Samsung-brand shop

Leading UAE retailer Jacky’s has officially opened its latest Samsung Brand Shop at the newly-opened My City Centre in Nasseriya, Sharjah on Monday, bringing the number of these new-concept stores to three, with a fourth one coming soon.

The opening continues Jacky’s’ ongoing conversion of a number of its stores into Samsung-themed shops, which aims to bring a whole new experience to its loyal customers. After the first wave of the new branded stores, Jacky’s Retail is looking into more locations, but without a specific time frame, its top official said.

“Nothing else is signed in stone at this stage, but we are looking at a couple of other locations, as well as other concepts,” Ashish Panjabi, chief operating officer of the Jacky’s Group, told Khaleej Times before the ribbon-cutting ceremony.

Jacky’s’ first two Samsung Brand Shops opened at Dubai’s Mall of the Emirates and Abu Dhabi’s Khalidiyah Mall over the past two months. The fourth store, Panjabi said, is due to open at Deira City Centre in April. Jacky’s Retail, the newest unit under the Jacky’s Group of Companies, was launched last December. It manages and operates Samsung Brand Shops, which is a one-stop shop for all things Samsung and include a dedicated team. The stores also retain a number of Jacky’s services, such as its Eco-Exchange Programme and offers with telecom operators etisalat and du.

Panjabi said that the Samsung-brand stores have “done very well,” and that he was “happy with the numbers” so far. As for this new outlet, he said the first weekend “was beyond expectations.”

“There is a customer demand and they are enjoying the experience [so] it’s not only about price… and hopefully we can deliver what they expect,” Panjabi said. “We’re hearing stuff like, ‘wow, what you’ve done looks amazing’ about the new stores.”

Asked why it was Samsung that Jacky’s chose to partner with in this way, he said: “Samsung is the one brand that we saw was growing faster than any other brand in our stores. They have the lion’s share even in a multi-brand format, reaching about 50 per cent in various categories.”

“Even for [Jacky’s], there is a sentiment of running your own store, but you have to look at the bigger picture at times… it is not only Samsung’s name but also our name associated… so that gives confidence to the customer and a sense of pride for us.”

With regards to more Jacky’s Electronics outlets being opened, he said that the company “is in discussions with mall operators for new projects coming on board in 2015-16.”

On the upcoming Gitex Shopper Spring Edition 2014 — slated from April 23 to 26, according to dubaicalendar.ae — Panjabi said that discussions with the Dubai World Trade Centre are ongoing, and “hopefully something will be confirmed me soon.”