Retail spending at Gitex Shopper reaches Dh82m

Dubai: Retail spending at Dubai's Gitex Shopper hit Dh82 million over the seven day event as shoppers took advantage of slashed prices on a range of consumer electronics.

Organisers of the retail bonanza say the Dh10 million rise in spending over 2005 was due the event's shift from computers to a wider product mix including TVs, mobile phones, cameras and electronics accessories.

The total visitor numbers for Gitex Shopper were up 6.5 per cent on last year at 125,753, while the Gitex and GULFCOMMS trade exhibition at Dubai World Trade Centre drew in more than 130,000 visitors.

"We are delighted that Gitex Shopper has had such an overwhelming response, proving once again that this is the largest consumer IT shopping event in the region," said Helal Saeed Al Marri, director-general at Dubai World Trade Centre.

Doors remained open until midnight for the last two nights (yesterday and Thursday), as retailers saved their best deals for last.

Many electronics companies reported massive sales increases on last year, stressing that better car parking arrangements and a greater affordability of electronics drew in shoppers.

Bradley Bennett, divisional manager at Plug-Ins Electronix, said the company's sales were up 40 per cent during the first four days of the exhibition compared to the same period last year.

Sales were also up at IT distribution company Trigon.

"We crossed Dh700,000 in sales during the first four days and our target was Dh1.5 million for the entire event," said Kamran Khayal, the company's sales and marketing manager. "This year our focus was on laptops, LCD TVs and high-end digital cameras."

Many retailers said the change in the event's name from Gitex Computer Shopper to Gitex Shopper attracted consumers looking for products other than computers.

However, organisers say laptops remained the main driver of sales.

Officials at audio retailer Harman House said its sales doubled last year's figure, while IT company TwinMOS reported it was on track to hit a Dh2.1 million sales target over the seven days.

"Our sales were up by 30 per cent to 40 per cent compared to last year," said Ashish Panjabi, Chief Executive Officer at consumer electronics retailer Jacky's Electronics.

"Some of the hot products this year were LCD screens, laptops and digital cameras," he added.