Dubai: Encouraging the use of the Arabic language in all segments of the public sphere, the Department of Economic Development Dubai (DED) has launched an ‘Arabic Invoice’ initiative with two leading retailers.
Retail and business invoices in Dubai are printed predominantly in English and the initiative encourages firms to have bilingual invoices – in English and Arabic.
Al Tayer group and M.H. Alshaya Co have become the first two major firms in Dubai to join the DED campaign that will see till invoices at all the outlets owned by these two firms in Arabic as well as in English.
The initiative was jointly launched on Wednesday at Armani Hotel, Burj Khalifa.
With immediate effect, every receipt issued by Alshaya across more than 300 of its stores, restaurants and cafes in Dubai will be printed in Arabic as well as English and will also carry details of the DED’s Consumer Rights helpline number and web address.
Five of Al Tayer Group’s stores are live as of today, and by the end of this year all 90 retail stores operated by the group in Dubai will issue bilingual receipts. The same will apply across the UAE by mid-January 2015.
“As one of the leading retail companies in the UAE, we are proud to partner with the DED on the launch of this important initiative. A significant proportion of our customer base speaks Arabic and this is an essential development towards addressing their needs and delivering the highest level of customer service,” said Rania Shamas, General Manager – Retail Operations, Al Tayer Group, following the launch.
Commenting on the occasion, Sami Al Qamzi, Director-General of DED, said: “Dubai is now one of the world’s leading retail destinations and the DED has worked hard to establish a strong reputation for protecting consumer rights. Working with Alshaya and Al Tayer to publicise the ‘Be Right – Know Your Consumer Rights’ initiative through their till receipts will greatly support our awareness-building objectives.”
Currently, the practice of printing bilingual invoices will be optional for retailers as well as wholesalers but, according to Omar Bu Shahab, CEO of DED’s Commercial Compliance and Consumer Protection section, the idea is to encourage more firms to adopt the new practice.
“In Dubai we believe in natural growth of new ideas rather than forcefully implementing them. We believe, after a great example set by Al Tayer and Alshaya, others will follow and gradually it will be a norm,” said Bu Shahab.
He said that Dubai has a population of five million, including the floating population, out of which 1.5 million are Arabic speakers.
