Top luxury brands make a beeline to 6th Middle East Exclusive Expo

To be held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President of Dubai Civil Aviation Authority and Chairman of Dubai Airports Authority, the exhibition will involve exhibitors from UAE, Japan, India, Switzerland, Italy, Netherlands, Germany, Russia, Hong Kong and other parts of the world. The exhibition will be held at Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre between March 10 and 12, 2009.

A vast array of high fashion jewellery, antiques, luxury goods, travel retail items, watches, perfumes, confectionery, leather goods, writing instruments, gourmet and fine foods as well as electronics gadgets will be showcased during the show.

Channels Exhibitions, organisers of the show, said the MEE 2009 will provide the perfect business platform for luxury goods and duty free industry, further reinforcing Dubai's reputation as the regional hub for luxury trade. The exhibition is supported by Dubai Duty Free (DDF) and the Middle East Duty Free Association (MEDFA).

The Nielsen Global Luxury Brands survey in October 2009 ranked UAE among the top three countries in the world for purchasing luxury fashion brands. In the survey, 57 per cent of UAE consumers said they would buy luxury fashion-branded mobile phones, a number much larger than the global average.

Justin Boutros, Chief Executive of Channels Exhibitions, said: "Even though the financial turmoil has had an impact globally, the luxury goods makers and high-end service providers found ready clients, especially in the UAE and region. The Middle East boasts of approximately 400,000 millionaires and there is immense potential for growth. As the world looks towards the region to avoid being burnt by tightening budgets across Europe and US, the Middle East Exclusive Exhibition offers a crucial platform for industry players to network and discuss trends."

He added: "With such an impressive growth potential, the exhibition offers a unique opportunity to bridge the gap between the suppliers and retail trade. The luxury goods business in the Middle East is expected to outperform the average global trade and it is clear to see that an extremely positive future beckons."

In addition to the travel retail segments, consumers in the Middle East command huge amounts of wealth with some of the highest per capita incomes (Abu Dhabi $42,000 and Qatar $55,000) - which is spent on luxury brands and up-market offerings.

The 5th Middle East Exclusive Exhibition, held in 2007, hosted over 600 international luxury and travel retail brands, attracting over 2,000 trade visitors from 62 countries.