Dubai: Emax aims to double its turnover and number of outlets in the Gulf in the next three years, fuelled by robust growth in consumer electronics industry.
“We are currently poised for further expansion to other Middle East and North African markets, mainly Iraq, Egypt, Lebanon and North Africa, to cater to the needs of local customers. India is also on our radar, but the current political situation, rupee devaluation and low GDP growth is holding us back,” Neelesh Bhatnagar, CEO of Emax, told Gulf News.
He said Emax is going to invest Dh300 million to open 50 outlets in the next three years, mainly in the Gulf, and double its turnover to Dh4 billion. Emax has opened the current 52 stores in a span of seven years, out of which 20 are in the UAE.
The electronics retailer is set to earn Dh2 billion in sales this year.
According to Researchandmarkets.com, the global consumer electronics Industry is expected to reach an estimated $1.21 trillion in 2017 with an annual growth rate of 5.4 per cent over the next five years (2012-2017).
Quoting a Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry report, he said the UAE is expected to maintain a robust demand for consumer electronics with sales to increase from $3.14 billion to $3.97 billion by 2015.
Emax has grown 30 per cent this year when compared to the market growth of between six and eight per cent. “We expect 40 per cent growth next year.”
When asked about the impact of Dubai winning Expo 2020 bid on the tech retail sector, Bhatnagar explained that the win came at the right moment. “The market is healthy and is geared for unprecedented constant growth from now until 2020 when the Expo will potentially be a game changing opportunity for the local and regional retail sector,” he said.
Saudi Arabia is a big market for Emax due to the huge population, followed by the UAE.
He said Emax will have 40 stores in Saudi Arabia in the next three years, followed by 35 stores in UAE and 25 stores in Oman, Bahrain and Qatar.
The retailer currently has a market share of eight per cent in the UAE, according to research firm GfK and aims to double it in the next three years.
“Souk trading is becoming less in the last couple of years and consumers are moving to power retailers and power retailers are moving from unorganised trading to organised trading. Consumers’ expectations and demand are increasing as they have become knowledgeable and they do their homework before they make a purchase,” he said.
“It’s been an amazing journey for Emax; to survive in such a highly competitive market was a big challenge for us, let alone to lead the sector in such a short time. Now the challenge is to maintain the leading position, which presents to all of us at Emax an opportunity to innovate new methods of optimising quality across all functions,” he said.
