Dubai: ‘The Big Summer Sale’, a new shopping initiative, helped kick-off the 18th edition of the annual Dubai Summer Surprises (DSS) shopping festival on Thursday.
Organised by Dubai Festivals and Retail Establishment (DFRE), the sale is taking place at the Dubai World Trade Centre and offers a range of fashion brands at low prices from July 23 to August 1 daily from 11am to 11pm at the Zabeel Hall two and three.
The new addition to the Dubai summer shopping season is set to become an annual event on Dubai’s retail calendar. Laila Suhail, CEO of DFRE told Gulf News that the new event aims to be a major attraction for families, tourists, and residents shopping for the holiday season and looking for unmatchable prices. “Our main focus is to support the retail sector by creating a platform where retailers from a range of brands can offer more promotions and unique discounts to customers,” she said.
Entry to the 10-day exhibition is free with every visitor being given a raffle coupon that will be entered into a daily draw, offering a prize of Dh10,000.
Laila explained the concept of DSS shopping festival was first initiated in 1998, after the success of the second edition of the Dubai Shopping Festival. While both shopping festivals were celebrated in 1998 at only 17 malls across Dubai, today they take place in over 70 malls across the emirate. “Looking at Dubai’s current infrastructure and hospitality sector, events such as DSS is a must have during the long summer season,” said Laila.
Saeed Mohammad Mesam Al Falasi, Director, Strategic Alliances Division at the DFRE explained that as Dubai’s reputation as a global hub for fashion is growing, new events are being added to its retail calendar. ”As the city with the second largest range of retail brands under one roof, this first-of-its-kind event in the region will offer people the chance to obtain incredible fashion items from clothing to accessories at amazing prices,” he said.
Al Falasi pointed out that for participating retailers, the event offers a platform for brand awareness, new product launches, product sampling, and promotions. “It also offers them the opportunity to have an end-of-season sales period before the arrival of new stock,” said Al Falasi.
The 45-day summer shopping festival (DSS) attracts an estimated four to 4.2 million people, of which 30-35 per cent are tourists. The overall money spent during the five to six week period at the festival is over Dh10 billion.
This year, the DSS, held under the slogan ’45 days of summer,’ will take place from July 23 to September 5, offering residents and visitors from around the world the opportunity to enjoy a diverse range of events.
The line-up of events includes international celebrity appearances and shows to world premieres featuring internationally renowned children’s cartoon characters.
Among the celebrities who will arrive in Dubai to celebrate DSS are Jaden and Willow Smith, Nancy Ajram and Arab teen star Hala Turk, while global entertainment concepts such as Bugs Bunny, Tweety & Sylvester, Power Rangers, Sonic the Hedgehog and Gumball will be launching their world premieres during this year’s family extravaganza.
The summer promotions will also reward shoppers with millions of dirhams worth of prizes.
