Abu Dhabi Electronics Shopper ‘will not impact Gitex Shopper’

Dubai: Key retailers do not expect the recent Abu Dhabi Electronics Shopper (ADES), which ended two week ago, to have any kind of impact on the Gitex Shopper Spring edition.

“ADES is still in its growing stages and is still to strengthen its foothold which should take time. Gitex, however, is an established event for many years and is a much awaited event. With its Spring version growing in leaps and bounds and its timing to coincide with salary there should be no stumbling block,” Niranjan Gidwani, Deputy CEO of Eros Group, told Gulf News.

Santosh Varghese, general manager of Toshiba Gulf FZE, said the Abu Dhabi event is relatively new compared to Gitex and it mainly focuses on captive sales within the capital.

“The Shopper is a regional event. We have consumers and channel partners across the region visiting Dubai,” he said.

Nadeem Khanzadah, head of omnichannel retail at Jumbo Group, said that Abu Dhabi Shopper is still at its nascent stages and has a long way to go before it appeals to a larger consumer base and reaches the scale of the Dubai event.

“Gitex Shopper has been a hallmark consumer electronics event for many years now, and it attracts visitors from across the region. The fact that the event is held in Dubai, which is also a popular getaway for tourists from GCC nations, adds to the popularity of the event,” he said.

No, not at all, says Neelesh Bhatnagar, CEO Emax.

“It is yet another opportunity for consumers to indulge in and take advantage of the best of deals and promotions. With technology evolving at an extremely rapid pace, products are being launched at very short intervals, thus making such tech shows great platforms to meet consumer demands,” he said.

Abu Dhabi shopper caters to a slightly different and limited audience, and does not believe that it will affect the shopper, said Amit Rupchandani, managing director of Obi Mobiles EMEA.

Sean Connor, general manager of Plug Ins, said that Abu Dhabi shopper was conceived to give Abu Dhabi customers a place closer to home where they can experience the excitement and savings of a ‘shopper’ event.

“Though the shopper has become an annual event, it’s still a new show. Gitex has established itself as the marquee event, now twice annually, in the Middle East. The Abu Dhabi shopper will not have much impact on the spring Gitex,” he said.