Dubai: Did you ever want to see kilos of gold bars for real?
Glittering stacks of the yellow metal weighing 250 kilos, and valued at Dh35 million, will be transported to a local mall and will be on a rare display this weekend as part of the latest promotion of the Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF).
The world’s largest display of gold bars can be witnessed for only a day on 20th January 2017, Friday, at the Jumbo store in Mall of the Emirates.
DSF organisers have teamed up with the UAE-based electronics retailer and other sponsors to make the exhibition possible. To add more fun, residents, visitors and tourists have been invited to take pictures and selfies with the precious metal and share them online.
Those who post the images on Instagram or Facebook with the following hashtag: #jumboisgold, will get the chance to take home a Dh25,000 worth of limited edition solid gold PlayStation 4.
The idea is to engage mall visitors with a ‘wow’ moment and spread the fun of DSF shopping to the world through social media. It also compliments the month-long ‘Shop and Win’ DSF promotion that Jumbo has across all its stores.
The retailer is giving away half a kilo of gold every week and ten grams of gold coins daily.
Nadeem Khanzadah, head of OmniChannel Retail at Jumbo Group, said they had shared the idea of bringing piles of gold bars to the mall with DSF and Emirates Gold Refinery. They later managed to get Brinks Global to take care of the logistics and ensure that the precious gold bars are safely escorted to the mall.
“Giving away gold every DSF has always been a tradition for us, but this year, we wanted to bring an even bigger attraction,” Khanzadah said.
“I assure you that this display of solid gold is going to [give you a wow moment].”
The UAE is home to a huge expatriate population who love purchasing gold jewellery. Gold consumption, however, has recently been on a decline, with global demand reaching 993 tonnes in the third quarter of 2016, down 10 per cent from a year earlier, according to the World Gold Council.
The world’s leading gold markets, India and China, both experienced a drop in consumer demand of 28 per cent and 22 per cent, respectively.
The softening sentiment towards the bullion in China has been attributed to the economic uncertainty, while in India, stiffer government policies, high gold prices and decline in disposable incomes contributed to the slump.
