Dubai: Shoppers flocked to the Dubai World Trade Centre on Wednesday as the second Gitex Shopper Spring edition 2014 opened its doors, showcasing a myriad of gadgets.
The show, which runs until April 26, was opened by Shaikh Mansour Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum. Shaikh Mansour stopped at the Samsung stand first, and viewed the S9 Ultra HD TV and the NX Series cameras, before proceeding to the other stands for brands such as Toshiba, Pioneer and Nestle.
The exhibition has attracted more than 50 exhibitors and expects to have around 130,000 visitors.
On display were smartphones, tablets and Full HD and 4K TVs, among others, and some retailers, such as E-City, Emax, Jacky’s Electronics, Jumbo Electronics, Plug-Ins and Sharaf DG, have them at discounted prices or part of bundle deals.
Speaking to Gulf News at the show, Nadeem Khanzadah, general manager and head of retail at Jumbo Electronics, said that with the “positive vibe” in Dubai due to the recovering economy and rising number of tourists, consumers are “more prone to spending”.
He pointed out that the number of gadgets in a household has gone up exponentially. “Consumers are gadget-centric,” he said.
Growth
Khanzadah expects the sales at Gitex Shopper this year to grow by 20 per cent over last year, adding that the retailer’s sales is likely to go up 40-50 per cent this month over March.
Products at the Jumbo Electronics stand that are expected to attract consumers include the Galaxy S5 and the HTC One M8 smartphone, as well as laptops.
Toshiba is launching a few laptops at the show, including the Toshiba Kira, which comes with a touch screen and is priced at Dh7,299, and the Satellite L40-A993, priced at Dh1,699, which comes with a Dh100 voucher.
Binu Thomas, head of products and services at Toshiba’s computer systems division, said that consumer confidence in Dubai is returning. The company’s sales is expected to surge “ 30-40 per cent” this month over March, he said.
Over at Nokia’s stand, consumers can view the Nokia X Android phone, which was launched earlier this month. The Lumia 1520, which is also on display, comes with a free wireless charging plate.
