Dubai
Sharjah’s third edition of ‘Consumer Electronics Fashion (CEF) The Big Shopper’ expo got off to a strong early start on Wednesday.
Antoine Georges, managing director of Dome Exhibitions, organisers of the three-day event, told Gulf News that the last two year’s event was a big success and more brands have joined this year.
He said the main objective of the event is to make the shopping experience easy and fun for the family.
The organisers are expecting a footfall of 80,000 and more than Dh40 million in sales value.
Jacob Varghese, organiser of the CEF, said that the event coincided with the National Day holidays and due to that more families are expected from Thursday onwards.
“Number of participants and brands have increased from sectors such as fashion, apparels, footwear, consumer electronics and lifestyle. Consumers are really liking the concept and it is becoming a trend to attract the families,” he said.
All the top retailers and partners such as Homes R Us, Lacoste, Al Mandoos, Sharaf DG, Jashanmal, Grand Stores, Al Futtaim Sports are offering up to 95 per cent discounts.
Varghese said that with value-added tax (VAT) coming, consumers are going to make November and December as the best shopping time for this year.
“We are going to increase the area from the current 8,000 square feet from next year as more brands are keen to participate,” he said.
Nuha Abu Eisa, marketing director at Grand Stores, said that the format of the show has been successful. “The audiences are keen to come and join us at these events,” she said. With the VAT kicking off soon, she said that such events will bring in more sales and “I assume that people are also waiting for these kind of special events to boost their purchase”.
Santosh Chikhale, area manager for Al Futtaim Sports, participating for the first time, said that the company is offering up to 95 per cent on brands like Reebok, Speedo and Umbro.
“It is a clearance format and we want to make sure that we offer the best price to customers,” he said.
Blessica said that the event has happened at the right time for her. “I am going on vacation after two weeks and I can avail the discounted prices. I did not have much time to shop now as I need to go to the hospital. I will come in the evening or tomorrow to buy more,” she said.
Bharath, head of project division at Jashanmal, said that the last two events were successful because of the pricing.
“We offer 20 per cent more discounts for Sharjah events to attract more customers than Dubai. The last two events were successful because of the pricing. We offer one-year warranty compared to the usual six-month warranty during the sale period,” he said.
The show, which takes place at halls two and four, opens from 10am to 11pm, and the ticket is priced at Dh5 while entry for children below 12 years is free.
