Retailers say a mix of big-name brands and lifestyle products will help drive sales at a Dubai electronics show this week.
The semi-annual Gitex Shopper event opened on Wednesday, with vendors including Sharaf DG and Plug Ins forecasting daily sales would be 50 per cent higher compared to the last edition.
“With UAE customers changing their phones every six months to a year, Gitex is a marketing pitch,” said Nilesh Khalko, the chief executive of Sharaf DG. “Gitex Shopper gives visibility and exposure to our product range and drives major sales.”
Traditionally the event is known for its bundled offers. However, as margins fall amid increased competition in the sector, retailers are differentiating their offerings by including top-of-the-line brands in the bundles rather than the no-name products of previous years.
“Our customers from the last shows were unhappy with some of the bundles, so we have changed to big brands such as Sennheiser, Sony, Ferrari and Apple,” said Nadeem Khanzadah, the general manager of Jumbo Electronics. “Bottom lines are under pressure locally and globally. We change our prices daily as other retailers target our prices and we theirs.”
Luxury cars are also being included in the bundles again. A BMW and an LG 55-inch TV are offered together for Dh99,950 compared to their combined list value of Dh155,000. Last year 150 of the cars were sold. Mini Coopers are also being offered with the same TV at a Dh46,000 discount on the combined list price.
This year lifestyle products including washing machines and fridges are on sale at the event, but some of the big local retailers have held back from taking more space to showcase these items.
“Dubai World Trade Centre rents are always a factor,” said Sean Connor, the general manager of Plug Ins. “It’s dependent on the response, so we will see next year for the lifestyle offering.”
ascott@thenational.ae
How will Gen Alpha invest?
Mark Chahwan, co-founder and chief executive of robo-advisory firm Sarwa, forecasts that Generation Alpha (born between 2010 and 2024) will start investing in their teenage years and therefore benefit from compound interest.
“Technology and education should be the main drivers to make this happen, whether it’s investing in a few clicks or their schools/parents stepping up their personal finance education skills,” he adds.
Mr Chahwan says younger generations have a higher capacity to take on risk, but for some their appetite can be more cautious because they are investing for the first time. “Schools still do not teach personal finance and stock market investing, so a lot of the learning journey can feel daunting and intimidating,” he says.
He advises millennials to not always start with an aggressive portfolio even if they can afford to take risks. “We always advise to work your way up to your risk capacity, that way you experience volatility and get used to it. Given the higher risk capacity for the younger generations, stocks are a favourite,” says Mr Chahwan.
Highlighting the role technology has played in encouraging millennials and Gen Z to invest, he says: “They were often excluded, but with lower account minimums ... a customer with $1,000 [Dh3,672] in their account has their money working for them just as hard as the portfolio of a high get-worth individual.”
Jigra
Starring: Alia Bhatt, Vedang Raina, Manoj Pahwa, Harsh Singh
The specs
Engine: Long-range single or dual motor with 200kW or 400kW battery
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Price: From Dh250,000 (estimated)
Haemoglobin disorders explained
Thalassaemia is part of a family of genetic conditions affecting the blood known as haemoglobin disorders.
Haemoglobin is a substance in the red blood cells that carries oxygen and a lack of it triggers anemia, leaving patients very weak, short of breath and pale.
The most severe type of the condition is typically inherited when both parents are carriers. Those patients often require regular blood transfusions - about 450 of the UAE's 2,000 thalassaemia patients - though frequent transfusions can lead to too much iron in the body and heart and liver problems.
The condition mainly affects people of Mediterranean, South Asian, South-East Asian and Middle Eastern origin. Saudi Arabia recorded 45,892 cases of carriers between 2004 and 2014.
A World Health Organisation study estimated that globally there are at least 950,000 'new carrier couples' every year and annually there are 1.33 million at-risk pregnancies.
