Dubai: Big Boys Toys — a consumer lifestyle event — is coming to Dubai’s Atlantis Hotel on Thursday, bringing innovative and high-end products by some of the world’s biggest brands.
“It will feature ten world premieres,” said Biju Jayaraaj, chief executive officer of Artaaj, the organiser of the event.
According to Jayaraaj, the show is gradually growing year on year, in terms of visitor and exhibitor attendance.
“The show has played a part in driving the economy. We have exhibitors who have found distributors in the region by participating in Big Boys Toys, which helps to bring in more revenue to the city all through the year. We have many international visitors flying in just for the show; they make up 20 per cent of visitors,” he said, adding that 40 per cent are Emiratis.
The show — which opened in Dubai last year, and in Abu Dhabi in the two previous years — encapsulates everyone’s lifestyles. It will have all kinds of products, from the fastest cars and foldable bikes, to the world’s most expensive suit and even bouncing shoes.
And, contrary to what its name may suggest, the show is for ‘big girls’, too.
Gadgets
Something that is sure to attract (but by no means exclusively) women is an i-Phone cover coated with gold and diamonds.
The Swiss made accessory, which is making its world premiere here, is coated with 24 karats of gold on the front, and 1.8 karats of raw diamonds on the back — smoothly applied as if painted on, according to Mario Steglegger of Luxury Refinish, a company that specialises in lacquering and resurfacing techniques.
There are only ten pieces on show, which can be purchased on the spot.
It’s selling price is approximately Dh85,000, said Steglegger.
“I think it [the i-Phone cover] will be very well received in Dubai. There are people here that have high net incomes so they can buy it. Europe’s target audience is not as strong because of the economic crisis there, so people do not spend as much, which is one reason why we didn’t show it there,” he said.
Meanwhile, the ‘big boys’ (and girls) will find this one interesting: a car practically coated with diamonds. It is also premiering for the first time globally, and introduced by Luxury Refinish.
It will be sold for Dh2 million.
Diamonds and gold seem to be an overlying theme of the show. There will also be golden sunglasses, golden and diamond encrusted water bottles, and a golden piano.
But if you’re naturally aquatic, then you can have a look at the underwater scooter. The RS1 by Seadoo helps divers manoeuvre underwater. It is equipped with a 500-watt engine and can go at a speed of 8 km per hour, and at a depth of 40 metres. It has three controllable speed variations.
The RS1 will be debuting for the first time in the Middle East. The other ranges of the RS series — RS2 and RS3 — showed strong demand at last year’s International Boat Show in Dubai, accounting for 38 per cent of sales, says Khaled Yousuf of Esal Marine, the Middle East distributor of Seadoo products.
The RS1 will be on sale for Dh18,000.
Esal Marine will be offering discounts of up to 40 per cent, said Yousuf. Another underwater scooter, the GTI, can be bought for Dh1,999, instead of Dh3,099 — its retail price.
Interactivity
The high-end products on display usually come with a hefty price tag, which is not affordable for everyone; but the exhibition is not just a buying and selling platform. “The show is focused on entertaining visitors. We want to turn everything into an experience for them,” said Biju.
There is a lot to experience at this year’s Big Boys Toys. Visitors will get to test drive all the cars, including Lamborghini and Bentley, for a few minutes around the hotel. And if you always wanted to fly a helicopter, well, then you can’t at the show — but you can at least sit inside it and let your imagination run.
Fashion-loving women can compete in the Style Icon fashion competition, in which judges will award the best-dressed woman on the last day of the exhibition. Interested participants will have to ‘catwalk’ in a designated area to be considered in the competition. The winner will get Dh50,000.
Children can play with the ‘toys’ too, those that are age-appropriate, such as the inflatable jet-skis. There will be a swimming pool for the children to ride their jet-skis. So be sure to bring a swimsuit with you.
Other activities include playing with a remote-controlled chopper that can actually shoot other choppers (just with lights). There will also be shooting, archery and arcade games.
The event will run until Saturday. The standard entry ticket for all three days costs Dh500, which gives visitors a Dh600 voucher for access to test-drives and other activities. Ticket holders can also enter a raffle to win Dh1 million in cash.
Sarah Algethami is a trainee at Gulf News.
