Big surprise for big spenders

Have you had your eye on a little black dress, a cute handbag or those sparkling sandals but not quite had the budget?

Almost every store imaginable is luring in their customers every day with promises of major discounts. High-end shops from Saks Fifth Avenue, Kenneth Cole and Boss to Burberry, Mango and Nine West, are hanging up big red signs offering anywhere from 20 to 70 per cent off.

The good thing about summer time is you don't have to wait for the end of the month. After all, what would summer time be without the good old-fashioned sales? Shopaholics are putting on their comfortable shoes, wallets in hand, ready to head straight for the mall for that perfect summer deal.

With Dubai Summer Surprises (DSS) under way, retailers can't help but take advantage of the increasing flow of customers.

 "This is the first time we have really focused on shopping and the support from retailers has been tremendous," said Saeed Al Naboudah, CEO of DSS.

Al Naboudah said due to the cancellation of this year's Dubai Shopping Festival, people are concentrating fully on DSS.

"My job is to get the tourists that are here during DSS to head down to the malls. We do all the marketing and the retailers do the promoting," said Al Naboudah.

The DSS office is also working with the department of Economic Development to regulate the sales and make sure they are genuine.

"This is definitely the season for sales across the city," said Sabina Khandwani, head of research and marketing for BurJuman.

"What you will find in BurJuman is luxury stores under one roof and that is not easy opportunity to find anywhere else,"

Khandwani said retailers are coordinating with the DSS office this year to decide if they will run sales for the duration of the festival or simply have limited promotional offers.

"This time of year is always very busy for us and feedback from the retailers has been very positive. I would estimate traffic through the mall to be up by around 15 per cent," said Khandwani.

However, the reason for the sales is not only geared at generating profit, according to Carla Zarubi, marketing manager for Saks Fifth Avenue, Dubai.

Zarubi also said now is the time to move old stock to create space for new collections.