Vendors claim 25% rise in sales

Dubai: Gitex Shopper exhibitors denied speculations on low footfall and sales at this year's consumer retail technology event, saying that the first few days have marked 25 to 30 per cent increase in sales over last year.

They also brushed aside claims of retailers pulling out of the show and moving to the World Trade Centre.

Organisers, were however, credited for managing the show better than last year and for eliminating traffic and parking problems at the Airport Expo.

"I don't think anyone has pulled out. All retailers are still here. The event is actually quite good this year. It seems a lot better. The parking and traffic situation is now better. In terms of crowd, there's not much difference. On the first day, we even had more people compared to last year," said Ashish Panjabi, chief operating officer of Jacky's Electronics.

During the first three days of Gitex Shopper alone, the retailer sold well over 2,000 laptops, over 1,200 mobile phones and more than 200 flat-screen television sets.

"Based on the sales figures so far, we have not seen any dampening on spending. Rather, our sales are indicating that we are seeing an approximate 25 to 30 per cent growth over the same period last year. We are seeing increase even on categories like LCD TVs, where the price points for the bigger screen TVs can run into five digits yet there has been good growth for us compared to last year's Gitex," Panjabi added.

Panjabi said a lot of UAE residents are moving to new homes and are furnishing their apartments or villas with appliances, so despite the current market situation, spending on consumer electronics is still high.

"The freehold market does definitely help year by year as more housing projects get handed over. Also, with festivals like Diwali just around the corner, we have seen a lot of customers looking to buy gift items for their loved ones. This has definitely generated sales well this year," said Panjabi.

Jumbo Electronics, another Gitex Shopper exhibitor, is also expecting at least 25 per cent increase in sales over last year, according to J.P. Nambiar, Jumbo Electronics' head of retail division. "The financial crisis is there, but it's of a different kind because the yearly per capita spend for the UAE consumer is still pretty high," Nambiar said.

He noted that during dire times, people are more likely to continue spending on electronic items, but may hold off spending on expensive stuff such as buying a car or a house.

"When you talk about crisis, there's a difference between investments and expenses for daily consumption.

"Laptops, mobile phones are for daily use and they don't cost as much as buying a property or a car," Nambiar said.