Record-breaking bargains on last day of Gitex
Laptops, smartphones and TVs were in huge demand and contributed most of the sales at the show whereas tablets registered poor sales
Customers on the last day of Gitex. Photo: Mukesh Kamal/Khaleej Times
Dubai: The third edition of Gitex Shopper Spring concluded successfully on Saturday.
The event was much bigger than last year’s Spring edition in terms of sales and turnout, according to top exhibitors and the event organiser, the Dubai World Trade Centre, or DWTC.
The Spring edition of Gitex Shopper was created under the directive of His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. The show was held at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre from April 1 to 4.
The electronics retail show is growing year on year. The first edition in 2013 resulted in sales worth Dh93 million, which was an impressive figure for a new show.
The second edition, in 2014, was better than its predecessor as it grew by nearly nine per cent to achieve more than Dh101 million in sales. This year, sales are touted to cross at least Dh110 million. Last year, the show hosted 125,000 visitors.
Hassan Mosafer, exhibition director of DWTC, declined to share sales figures and visitor numbers. “This year, we are aiming to cross last year’s figures, but it’s difficult to predict figures now,” Mosafer told Khaleej Times on the last day of Gitex Shopper. This time, the show featured new brands and new exhibitors as well, he added.
Talking about Shopper Smart Living, he said: “We are doing this show for the first time. It’s all about connected home appliances for the future home. It has been accepted well.” He said it would be an annual show and not a fixture at the October Gitex Shopper this year.
Laptops, smartphones and TVs were in huge demand and contributed most of the sales at the show whereas tablets registered poor sales. On Saturday, the event offered record-breaking bargain deals as retailers competed for customers on the final day of the show.
“The show has been very good despite the sand storm on Thursday. We have seen a growth of about 28 per cent compared to last year and hope to achieve the 30 per cent target,” Neelesh Bhatnagar, CEO of Emax, said on the last day.
“Our shops are also doing extremely well. Outlet sales are above 60 per cent compared to last year’s shop sales during Gitex Shopper,” Bhatnagar informed.
Talking about trends, he said smartphone have done very well, followed by TVs and laptops. “I think people are moving away from typical tablets and like detachable tablets which can be used as a standalone tablet and laptop,” he added.
Emax also participated in Smart Living’s first edition. Bhatnagar said although the first day was slow, people realised its importance later. “We had good sales in that area as well,” he said.
Meanwhile, according to Nadeem Khanzadah, head of retail, Jumbo Electronics: “We are expecting to close the show with 15 per cent growth over last year.”
Sales of mobile phones grew more than 45 per cent and laptops also did well, Khanzadah said, adding that demand for gaming devices was strong. “We hope to record highest sales on the last day,” he added.
He said sales of cameras and tablets were not robust. Citing reasons, he said people are moving away from tablets after the growth of smartphones with bigger screen size.
Mahesh Chotrani, assistant vice president of Jacky’s Electronics, also agreed that tablet sales fared poorly at Gitex Shopper. “For us, the notebook was on top, followed by smartphones and cameras in third position,” Chotrani said.
Overall, the show has been very good, he said, adding: “It’s much better than our initial estimates as sales growth touched 20 per cent compared to our forecast of 12 to 15 per cent.”
Customers were looking out for mid- to high-end products instead of entry-level gadgets, he said, adding that the same trend was noticed for laptops and cameras as well.
