Dubai's retail sector looks to summer windfall as DSS 2009 approaches

Laila Suhail, CEO of the DSF Office that is organising DSS was of the opinion that Dubai's retail sector was poised to ride out the storm.

"Dubai is not over-retailed as it is made out to be; yes, the city's Gross Leasable Area is the highest in the region but this is the dynamic nature of Dubai and we are pooling our efforts to ensure that the offers put out this summer will be unmatched by any other retail destination," she said.

"Dubai's position as the fourth-most dominant retail city in the world is the result of concerted efforts on the part of the retail sector and events such as Dubai Shopping Festival and Dubai Summer Surprises to offer value-added promotions on leading international brands. It must be noted that we achieved this in a short span of time unlike other seasoned retail destinations that have been retailing for decades," added Laila.

While DSS begins on June 11, registration for retailers commenced on May 17 and the results so far have been nothing less than optimistic. The first ten days of retail registration witnessed registration from around a thousand retailers and this number is slated to go up in the coming weeks.

"Our cooperation with the private sector has been a significant factor in the success of previous editions of DSS and this year has been no different. The DSF Office recently organised a meeting for retailers where we received suggestions on how to improve and ease registration for outlets that wish to be part of DSS and needless to say, the meeting was well received by all those who attended it," she added.

This year's summer retail package is different for the fact that it is the single longest shopping promotion ever organised in the region. Retail outlets are expected to go all out in offering discounts on a wide range of consumer goods. Discounts between 75 and 80% are anticipated during the promotion that will begin from June 1 and go on till September 30.

The four-month long shopping extravaganza will cover Dubai Summer Surprises, the Back-to-School season, Ramadan, and 'Eid in Dubai'. Retailers have expressed their satisfaction at the innovative retail package with many saying that the cost of registering for the four-month promotion was equal to that of the two-month promotion last year thus enabling them to transfer cost benefits on to consumers.