Dubai: Flags, scarves, souvenirs and dresses are seeing brisk sales ahead of Flag Day on November 2, retailers said on Tuesday.
The spike in demand comes as citizens and expatriates are keen on participating in the annual event, which coincides with the anniversary of President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan’s ascension to office as the leader of the country in 2004.
In 2013, His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, launched a national campaign for Flag Day to commemorate the accession. The event is marked with the flag being hoisted at government departments and buildings across the emirate at 11am. Schools and private companies also take part in the event each year.
To attract customers, shops across the UAE are decked up with UAE flags and decorations in a staggering range of sizes.
At Bin Sougat Centre in Dubai, kiosks and stores have placed bulk orders in advance to make sure they can keep up with the demand in the days leading up to National Day on December 2.
Asma Khadim Hussain works at the Fursati stall in the centre that is run by a group of Emirati women who make UAE-themed handmade items and dresses. These hold great appeal to many Emirati parents coming to the centre with their children.
“Apart from the demand for the flags, over the last few days, we’ve had many clients showing an interest in buying UAE flag-designed dresses for their children to wear at school. We have customised outfits available for little boys as well with the military pattern on them. We make sure we have enough stock because they run out quickly,” said Hussain.
Hussain said around 15 Emirati women contribute to the items, such as clips, medals, T-shirts and hats being sold at the stall, “Flag Day is an important occasion for the UAE and we are happy to see an increase in the number of clients wanting to celebrate it,” she said.
At a stationery shop in the same centre selling flags of various sizes, the Dh1 flags were sold out by Monday.
“Every year during this season, we see an increase in the number of clients wanting to buy the UAE flag because there are two occasions coming up, Flag Day and National Day,” said Ahmad Salah, manager at Dubai Library Distributors. “We start stocking up on items from October and continue till December.”
Apart from flags, they also have plenty of decorations and souvenirs on display. “We have flags starting from small stick flags at Dh1 to the 20-metre flags at Dh75.”
The larger flags are usually hung on buildings’ facades, Salah explained.
The store’s customers comprise Emiratis and expats. “Expats mostly buy flags for their children because their schools will have festivities. Many schools also place orders with us. They request up to 500 small stick flags for children,” he said.
A salesperson at another store full of UAE-themed decorations said competition has made it tough for them, but they are expecting a surge of people to come in over the next two days.
One Emirati customer was seen asking for the price of a UAE flag pin, which cost Dh10. “It’s a nice item to gift my colleagues on the occasion of National Flag Day. We will all be hoisting the flag at 11am on Thursday.”
