Dubai: Sony has opened its $1.2 (Dh4.40) million flagship showroom in a joint venture with Jumbo Electronics at Dubai Mall in bid to woo tech aficionados.
The Sony Boutique is the first in the Middle East by the Japanese consumer electronics giant.
“The consumer electronics competition is very tough, so a dealer wants to sell only fast-moving items. We will be not be having entry-level products at the showroom but have a wide range of Sony camera lenses and accessories which consumers cannot find anywhere else in the UAE,” Satoru Arai, head of Sony Middle East Marketing Company, told Gulf News after opening the 560-square-metre showroom.
He said this is also the first store in the UAE to display high-resolution audio products, which are priced at more than $1,000.
“We have plans to open more stores in the Gulf countries but don’t want to copy and paste. We have to study the customer behaviour and, depending on that, we will open a totally new concept store. Saudi Arabia will be our next target.”
Arai said the retail environment has increasingly become more relevant with customers looking to touch, feel and experience products before taking a decision.
“Strategically, for us, the Dubai Mall location has always delivered our expectations. The outlet alone is set to deliver about 40 per cent of our sales and make it the single most important retail showroom for us in the Middle East and Africa region,” he said.
The boutique has five distinct product zones for gaming, mobility, digital imaging, home entertainment and high-resolution audio.
Vishesh Bhatia, CEO of Jumbo Electronics, said that the range you find it at this showroom is a curated range. The focus is to showcase Sony’s technology.
“Each corner of the store has a meaning as Dubai Mall attracts lot of tourists. In order to satisfy them we need to recreate experiences giving customers the opportunity to connect with the brand and the product,” Arai said.
