Du celebrates successful franchise model of its retail network by recognising top performers

Following are the recipients of the awards:
Best Store Award: Presented to The Dubai Mall. The nominees included Ibn Battuta Mall and Jumeirah Center.

Best Store Manager Award: Presented to Rina Chouhan. The nominees included Vinod Swami and Osama Omar.

Best Sales Executive Award: Presented to Ahmed Umair, Umair Akram, Sayed Yasir and Nasir Aziz.

Best Franchisee Award: Presented to Ram Pillai, Haran communications.

Du commenced commercial operations in February 2007 with nine outlets. Responding to the ever growing need of serving its customers, the network of Du Shops as part of the telecom's retail presence has reached 57 at the end of 2012.

The shops are strategically located, ensuring coverage across the length and breadth of the UAE. In less than two years Du has franchised 19 of its 54 shops to partners - a great accomplishment compared to the franchising practice globally, and across the region.

Congratulating the winners, Maher Murad, Vice President - Retail and Sales in Du, said, "My heartiest congratulations go out to the winners today - each one of them is well deserved. Retail network constitute one of our primary customer-facing touch points I would like to thank our franchise partners for sharing our vision of customer orientation and growth. Our franchisee model is going from strength to strength - making our services easily and conveniently available to customers, and also ensuring achieving professional growth and ambition for franchisees."

The winner of Best Franchisee Award - Ram Pillai, Managing Director of Haran Communications, said, "I feel honoured to be recognised by Du for the hard work done by our four stores and back office operations. I am proud to be part of the Du family and for their excellent individual and business propositions that are popular among customers. I think the best is yet to come in the new year, and urge customers to visit Du Shops for attractive offers and enjoy high service standards."

Du had launched the franchise model in 2010, as part of its partnership with the Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Programme for Young Business Leaders - part of Mohammed Bin Rashid Establishment for SME Development. The collaboration gives priority to UAE national entrepreneurs when applying for a franchise with Du, providing them with the opportunity to showcase their abilities and grow professionally.