Sheikh Khalid Bin Abdullah Al Qassimi opens Retail Middle East

The exhibition will run till April 20.

The opening ceremony was attended by Ahmed Al Shamsi, Second Vice-Chairman, the Sharjah Chamber of Commerce & Industry; Mohammed S. Al Mosharrekh, Board Member, Sharjah Chamber of Commerce; Fasahat Ali Khan, Acting Director General, Expo Centre Sharjah; top government officials and other dignitaries.

"The Retail Middle East, the region's exclusive and dedicated trade event for the retail industry, has received tremendous response from leading industry players," said Mr Shamsi.

"The three-day event features over 100 leading suppliers, major manufacturers and players in the retail industry," he added.

The exhibit profile includes retail concepts, shop fitting & store equipment, visual merchandising, signages, POP, store design, retail technology & equipment, logistics and security systems.

It is being organised by Expo Centre Sharjah in association with National Association of Store Fixture Manufacturers (NASFM), USA, and Point of Purchase Advertising International (POPAI), USA, and with the support of the Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI).

POPAI, the only trade association committed to serving the interests of all those involved in retail marketing, launched its Middle East Chapter at the show.

"Retail Middle East is making its debut at a time when the retail sector in the region is experiencing unprecedented growth due to the booming GCC economies," said Mr Mosharrekh.

"A major development that has impacted the regional retail industry as a result of this expansion in retail space is the intensification of competition among retailers. They are now being compelled to adopt new strategies to counter the cut-throat competition and maintain their leadership edge," he added.

Keeping this requirement of the regional retail industry in mind, Retail Middle East is showcasing a range of retail display and shop fittings including backroom equipment, wood/glass/metal/wire fixtures, gondolas/hangers, merchandise storage systems, showcases, vending and automatic machines, shopping carts and baskets, mobile sales points, dispensers, freezers, refrigerated food display cabinets, warehouse fittings and equipment, heated display cabinets, food processing and packaging machinery and cold room and deep-freeze rooms.

Some of the participants include Umdasch Shop Fitting-Germany, Caddie-France, Otto Kind-Germany, MW Security-Germany, BY1 Displays-Australia; Grottini Shopsystems-Italy; Tensator-UK; Merlun-Group SAL-Lebanon, Mycom Solutions-UAE; Costra Advertising-UAE; Panasonic Gulf-UAE; Otto Kind AG, Barcode Gulf LLC, Signtech Display Systems-Egypt, Specialized Software Services-UAE, Hondeal Pte Ltd.-Hong King and Onsite Promotion-Greece, among others.

The Retail Professionals Conference held on April 18 alongside the show featured well-known industry experts who discussed key issues and latest developments relating to the sector. Delegates from 14 countries attended the conference.

The speakers included Richard K. 'Dick' Blatt, President and CEO, POPAI (Point of Purchase Advertising International); MAG. Christoph Haibock, Storebranding Consultant for Umdasch Shop Concept, leading international shop fitting company; Rogier van der Heide IALD, Associate Director, Arup Lighting, the lighting design section with global design and engineering group Arup; Simon Thomson, Principal, Retail International, independent UK-based retail consultancy; Avijit Yadav, Vice-President of Bates Pan Gulf; and Rehan Merchant, Executive Director of Emirates Neon Group.

The conference aimed at equipping the retailers to compete effectively in a market which is experiencing an unprecedented growth.

The show timings are from 10am to 6 pm.