Harman opens new showroom

Dubai: Harman House, the electronics store, on Tuesday inaugurated a 3 million euros (Dh15.49 million) showroom at Dubai Mall, adding to the prior seven locations in the UAE.

The showroom, encompassing 16,000 square feet of space, is the beginning of the plan to open 100 outlets by 2012 for the company, according to officials.

M.A Fadavi, managing director of Harman Middle East said to Gulf News, that they will be investing between $150-200 million (Dh550-734 million) in the next five years.

"While the doom and gloom spreads in other parts of the world, the Middle East is still an exciting place for us," said Dinesh Paliwal, chairman and chief executive of Harman International, manufacturer of audio and electronic products for automotive, consumers and professional use.

Fadavi said that the company saw revenues of $100 million in 2008, and the new store is expected to generate 10 per cent of the turnover.

Last year, growth was at 46 per cent, while this year, the economic slowdown will probably put a damper, bringing the growth down to 20 to 25 per cent, according to Fadavi.

However, expectations are high as the mall is predicted to witness 600 million visitors during the year, he said.

The store is equipped with demo concepts including a living room, thematic Jacuzzi, and bath settings, kitchen, garden and conference room, all powered by audio and video equipment.

The brands of the company power 70 per cent of the world's recording studios, more than 75 per cent of cinemas built in the last 20 years, and are included in premium cars from makers such as BMW, Land Rover and Rolls Royce.