Middle East retailers need to give paramount importance to customers' search for individuality, says international retail expert

Middle East retailers will need to give in more to the present day customers' search for individuality if it wants to survive the current onslaught of aggressive competition that has surfaced due to the astronomical expansion in the region's retail space, according to UK-based international retail consultant, Mr. Simon Thomson.

Mr. Thomson, is a Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, London and a Member of the Counselors of Real Estate, Chicago. He is an active member of the International Council of Shopping Centres based in New York and was a founding director of The Middle East Council of Shopping Centres in Dubai, of which he continues to belong.
"Customization of services as per the needs of the customer has become the order of the day," said Mr. Thomson.

"Every store today attempts to sell an attitude to its customers and the later is willing to pay a premium to buy it. Like in other countries, stores in the Middle East too have realised that the only way to counter the competition within the retail industry is by adapting ways that will help them best to handle increased competitive pressure," he added.

Currently, it is estimated that there is a potential of some 9.4 million sq. m. of retail space in the GCC states. Of this, Dubai's share accounts for 631,000 sq. m. followed by Jeddah (595,000 sq. m.), Abu Dhabi (460,000 sq. m.) and Riyadh (411,000 sq. m.). By 2009, based on certain projects that are underway, Dubai is expected to offer over 2 million sq. m. followed by Jeddah that will offer 750,000 sq. m., Riyadh (over 600,000 sq. m.) and Abu Dhabi (550,000 sq. m.).

In Dubai alone, by 2009, nearly US $ 8 billion of sales will need to be rung up each year to support the amount of expected space.

The strong similarities that exists today between stores in the Middle East and those in the US or Europe is an indication of the extent to which retailers in the region have gone in order to survive the growing competition, said Mr. Thomson.

"Store designs in the region offer the same, if not a higher level of sophistication," he said.

"As in the west, linear forms and materials of the late 60's and early 70's are back and being used throughout. Platforms and open shelves have taken the place of merchandise gondolas. Small open box displays have replaced big windows and elaborate merchandising. Lighting now plays an important role in store design. It has become an absolute must that all displays must sparkle and shine.

In other words, a brand name, whether in New York, London, Dubai, or Beirut, must come across loud and clear to the customer. Also, across the globe including in the Middle East, stores are becoming more and more customer centric," Mr. Thomson said.

Besides Mr. Thomson, other leading experts in the global retail industry who will address the Retail Professional's Conference are Ms. Kate Ancketil, Managing Director of the UK-based GDR Creative Intelligence, Dr. Christian Mikunda, an Austria-based dramatist and psychologist, and Dr. Lynda Wee, Director of the Singapore-based Centre for Innovation and Enterprise. The focus of this year's conference will be global retail trends, impact of customers' emotions on sales, latest developments in retail technology, and strategy formulation and implementation in retail setups.

The Retail Professional's Conference will be organised on April 18, 2006, on the sidelines of the Retail Middle East Exhibition at Expo Centre Sharjah.

The Retail Middle East Exhibition (RME), a one-stop platform that will showcase everything related to the retail industry including retail concepts, shop fitting and store equipment, visual merchandising, signages, POP, store design, retail technology and equipment, logistics and security systems, will be held from April 17-19, 2006. The event is being organsied by Expo Centre Sharjah in association with European Retail Institute (EHI) and Point-Of-Purchase Advertising International (POPAI) with the support of the Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI).

A major highlight of the Retail Middle East Exhibition will be the Retail IT seminar that will be held on April 17, 2006. The seminar will cover the issues of RFID, Digital signage at Retail, and Retail store and restaurant management software. Among the speakers who will be addressing the seminar are Mr. Graham Newland, Senior Director, Oracle Retail, EMEA - United Kingdom, who will talk about transforming the Economics of Retailing, and Mr. Ahmed El-Ridi, General Manager, of UAE-based Specialized Software Services, who will throw light on digital signage revolution in store communication.