Retail sector experiences robust growth

 

Dubai / Emirates Business

The first half of the 19th edition of Dubai Summer Surprises (DSS) has seen an upswing in economic activity across diverse sectors in the emirate from retail to hospitality, automotive to entertainment and financial services, as the region’s popular family extravaganza continues to further enhance Dubai’s position as the summer destination of choice.
With special promotions and unbeatable deals combined with world-class entertainment providing residents and visitors the opportunity to ‘Own The Summer’ in Dubai, DSS has helped shopping malls and entertainment destinations like Modhesh World record sharp increases in footfall with many hotels enjoying high occupancy levels and the various retail promotions giving a boost to the fashion and consumer electronics business.
DSS 2016, which commenced on July 9, is organised by the Dubai Festivals and Retail Establishment (DFRE), an agency of Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (Dubai Tourism). Running until August 20, DSS offers visitors plenty of opportunities to discover why Dubai is such a great year-round family destination.
Commenting on the performance of key economic sectors in the first half of DSS, Laila Mohammad Suhail, CEO of DFRE, said: “Once again, Dubai Summer Surprises proves to be an important catalyst for stimulating Dubai’s economy during the summer months. Feedback we have received from stakeholders at the halfway mark just goes to show that we are on the right path in terms of supporting the retail sector and enhancing the shopping experience.”
“The positive indicators can also be attributed to the unique collaboration between the public and private sectors to launch innovative, tailor-made retail promotions that are aimed at both rewarding shoppers for shopping in Dubai, and encouraging more spending across sectors.”
DFRE’s strategic partners for 2016 are: Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, Emirates, AW Rostamani Group, The Dubai Mall, Majid Al Futtaim Properties, Al Futtaim Group, Mercato, Paris Gallery, ENOC, Ibn Battuta Mall, Dubai Duty Free, Meraas and Etisalat.
Modhesh World
Modhesh World, one of the region’s most popular family edutainment destinations in the summer, received 120,000 visitors and registered an 8% increase in revenue since it opened its doors on June 27.

Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank
Commenting on the impact of the Dubai Summer Surprises on customers, Petr Klimes, Global Head of Marketing, ADIB said: “Our participation at the Dubai Summer Surprises has been very successful and we are seeing an increase in card transactions at Dubai outlets by 20%. In addition to that, we are proud to be the exclusive banking strategic partner of Dubai Festivals and Retail Establishment to offer our expertise to power the Dubai Festivals app which has been very popular and helped iPhone and android users get the most out of the offers at the Dubai Shopping Festival.”

AW Rostamani Group
Michel Ayat, CEO Arabian Automobiles Company (AAC), flagship company of AW Rostamani Group and the exclusive dealer for Nissan, Infiniti and Renault in Dubai and the Northern Emirates, said: “Arabian Automobiles is proud to contribute to this annual fiesta, which makes shoppers happy and allows us to be closer to our customers.”

Dubai Shopping Malls Group
Majid Al Ghurair, Chairman of Dubai Shopping Malls Group, said: “The retail sector plays a major role in the economy and is witnessing a significant increase in sales due to the continuous promotions and increasing participation from malls in Dubai. The attractive promotions and offers that have been ongoing since Ramadan and through the summer by participating malls of the Dubai Shopping Malls Group (DSMG) has resulted in a sharp rise in footfall to the malls.”

The Dubai Mall
Nasser Rafi, Chief Executive Officer of Emaar Malls, said: “The Dubai Summer Surprises 2016 marks another season of exciting activities across the assets of Emaar Malls to welcome families and assure that children have a memorable time this summer.”

Majid Al Futtaim Properties
(City Centre Deira, City Centre Mirdif, City Centre Me’aisem, City Centre
Al Shindagha, Mall of the Emirates)
Fuad Mansoor Sharaf, Senior Director – Property Management, Shopping Malls for Majid Al Futtaim Properties said: “As a Strategic Partner of DFRE for two decades, Majid Al Futtaim continues its commitment to contribute to Dubai’s tourism and retail sectors by hosting unique, first-time experiences that attract both residents and tourists.”

Nakheel (Ibn Battuta Mall and Dragon Mart)
Omar Khoory, Director of Nakheel Retail, said: “We are proud to extend our support for Dubai Summer Surprises by bringing Dragon Mart into the festivities for the first time, and building on last year’s success at Ibn Battuta Mall with another exciting collection of shows and promotions.”

Meraas
Saleh Al Geziry, Vice President, Retail, Marketing, Promotions and Recreation at Meraas, said: “Meraas is delighted to collaborate with the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing for the second consecutive year in hosting the much-anticipated Dubai Summer Surprises 2016.”

Dubai Duty Free
Colm McLoughlin, Executive Vice Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, Dubai Duty Free, said: “The Dubai Summer Surprises, which is on its 19th year, continues to attract so many visitors to Dubai and Dubai Duty Free has a number of initiatives in place to maximize the potentials and opportunities brought about by the impact of the consumers during the DSS period.”

ENOC
HE Saif Humaid Al Falasi, Chief Executive Officer of ENOC Group, said: “We are delighted to be a strategic sponsor for Dubai Summer Surprises. Our partnership with Dubai Tourism provides an opportunity to contribute to Dubai’s prosperity by supporting an event that contributes significantly to business activity in the emirate and enhances citizens’ experience.”

Etisalat
Fares Hamad Fares, Vice President, Corporate Communications at Etisalat, said: “Dubai Summer Surprises is one of the highly anticipated summer events in the UAE and the region. The significance of this annual event can be underpinned by the millions of residents and tourists it attracts from around the world who come to Dubai to enjoy its shopping promotions and distinctive line-up of events and activities.”

Hotels (Jumeirah Group)
Charlie Taylor, Group Director of Brand Communications, Jumeirah Group, said: “Year after year, Dubai Summer Surprises continues to be a core driver of visitors to our Dubai hotels during the summer months. Awareness of DSS in the countries of the GCC is high and many of our customers from these countries report that DSS is the primary reason for their visit.”

Radisson Blu
Paul Uglesic, Executive Assistant manager, Radisson Blu Hotel, Dubai Deira Creek
July has been a particularly successful month for the hotel where we have met our budget and outperformed last year’s rooms revenue by over 7%, with the majority of our guests coming from Iran, Saudi Arabia, India and Great Britain. DSS is a great benefit to the city and I have personally seen many guests coming back to the hotel with their hands full of shopping bags. We look forward to next year’s 20th anniversary!”

Fashion
Nilesh Ved, Founder & Chairman, Apparel Group, said: “DSS 2016 – the highlight of the city’s summer calendar – has offered residents and visitors from around the world the opportunity to enjoy a diverse range of events, in addition to the summer promotions that have rewarded shoppers with millions of dirhams worth of prizes.”

Money Exchange
Osama Al Rahma, CEO of Al Fardan Exchange, said: “DSS continues to demonstrate its success since its launch 19 years ago. It has become a major annual event that plays a key role in enhancing Dubai’s position on the world tourist map. The annual summer extravaganza attracts tourists from around the world, especially from neighbouring GCC countries, who come to Dubai to enjoy the fun-filled family entertainment and grab the unbeatable discounts across the city with plenty of opportunities to win fabulous prizes, all at the same time.
“During the first few weeks of Dubai Summer Surprises 2016, we witnessed a surge in currency exchange transactions thanks to the increasing numbers of GCC and other tourists arriving in Dubai for DSS shopping and entertainment.”

Gold & Jewellery
Deepak Jagjivan Soni, owner of Marhaba Jewelry, said: “Sales and footfall in the Gold Souk are always at their peak during the summer season. Regardless of the warmer weather, there is an influx of tourists who are always eager to discover the hidden treats of old Dubai and more notably, the city’s vast and renowned Gold Souk. Tourists coupled with our regular customers makes for a very busy summer indeed.”

Consumer Electronics
Christopher Balisbik, Sales Supervisor at Plug-Ins Electronix, The Dubai Mall said that mobile phones, smartphones and home electronics were attracting more shoppers to the store, which is offering huge discounts and running amazing promotions during DSS, offering prizes worth AED 250,000 including a range of electronics. He expects an increase in the number of shoppers to his store in the next few weeks of DSS.