Al Aqili Furnishings celebrates 10th year with AED 2 million triple expo initiative

AAF's mega trade show initiative will encompass the Office Exhibition, Hotel Show and InRetail Exhibition- all of which are running simultaneously from June 3-5 at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre (DICEC).

"We are going all out to make a major impression in three shows in three days," said Shahriar Khodjasteh, Group Marketing Director, AAF. "The end result, we hope, is that we will be first on the lips of everyone in the region's interior design, furnishing, lighting and flooring industries."

Servicing the residential, commercial and hospitality sectors, AAF's products will cover the entire 11,300 square feet of DICEC's Al Multaqa Hall, which will play host to, and be labelled as the Al Aqili Furnishings Pavilion. AAF will focus on the company's hospitality and contract solutions by showcasing its latest product ranges from their flooring, fabrics, lighting, contract furnishing and office furniture divisions.

"This seven-digit exhibition investment reflects AAF's strong position in the flooring market and will help reach our goal of becoming a leader in the rapidly growing furnishings industry," added Khodjasteh.

"This is just the first step in celebrating a decade of success and driving us forward in our long-term business plan, which focuses on increasing product ranges and services diversity region wide."

The Gulf's exponential construction and development growth spurred a need for interior solutions. In Dubai alone, a total of 2,222 buildings were completed successfully in 2006, according to the recent construction and retail figures issued by Dubai Statistics Department.
In addition to construction, there has been a rapid growth in the tourism sector. World Tourism Barometer reports a 20 per cent tourism revenue increase in 2006 from the previous year for the UAE, totalling AED 56 billion.

"Recent economic figures show that there is an increasing demand for high quality furnishing products to outfit residential, hospitality and commercial projects," said Khodjasteh.

Some of AAF's biggest recent projects include the Dubai Mall Hotel Furnished Apartments, the Park Place for Bin Drai Enterprises and the complete fit-out of Omniyat Properties' offices in Burjuman Business Tower. Additionally, AAF delivered two million square metres of flooring in 2006 across some of the region's most exclusive properties, the biggest of which are the Abu Dhabi Investment Building; Al Habtoor Towers, Dubai; Rotana Hotel, Kuwait; Radisson Hotel, Jeddah and Al Qasr Hotel, Dubai.

AAF, which represents 50 of the world's finest manufacturers will display brands including Shaw Industries from the USA - the world's largest manufacturer of carpets, Kronotex from Germany - provider of high quality laminated flooring products, FR-One - the world's only brand that meets all fabric safety standards globally, i4Mariani - an Italian office furniture company offering state-of-the-art manufacturing technology with a strong handicraft tradition, SLV - the leading contemporary lighting supplier, based in Germany, and Francesco Molon, manufacturer of high-end, handmade Italian furniture.