Dubai: Bundles of flags and other paraphernalia featuring the UAE’s colours fill the car accessory shops lined on Satwa Road, beckoning motorists to take part in the National Day celebrations by decorating their vehicles.
“It’s our busiest time of the year,” Saeed Ali Abbas, manager of Blue Rain Auto Accessories, said.
“Some customers prefer subtle decorations, while others go all out and embellish their cars with ribbons, stickers and pictures of the shaikhs. Stickers can range anywhere from Dh80 to Dh500.”
Abbas said this year customers are dwindling.
“Business was a lot more hectic and busy the last two years,” he said. “This year it seems to be going slower, we get less than ten customers a day.”
When asked what the most popular National Day car decoration was, Abbas said: “Oh, definitely picture stickers and tints of shaikhs. It is our most sold item.”
However, not all auto accessory shops seem to be suffering from slow business. Ali Rajab Zade, of Mohammad Habib Car Accessories, said the store has been working relentlessly for the past week.
“We’ve been tending to customers non-stop for over a week now,” he said. “While most of our customers are Emirati, we’ve been decorating cars with National Day decals for various nationalities including Egyptian, Syrian, Filipino, Iranian and Indian.”
Zade said that once National Day is over customers return to have the stickers removed.
“We usually don’t charge customers for removal costs if they have installed the decorations at our shop,” he said.
Dressed in civilian clothes, police officer Saeed Mohammad had brought his fully decorated Lexus to the shop for a few finishing touches.
“I had already installed the hood and rear decals a week ago,” the Emirati said.
“I’m just here for a few finishing touches. I decorate my car every year; it’s my way of celebrating the National Day. My friends and I drive around Jumeirah and indulge in the celebrations. It’s a lot of fun. Even my non-Emirati friends have decorations put on their cars.”
Egyptian Rania Saleh had come to replace the hood decoration on her car.
“Although I’ve been here for three years, I enjoy taking part in the festivities. I saw this glittering version of the flag and thought it would look nicer than the one I already had installed. My friend had come earlier today, she had her whole car embellished with the UAE colours. I was more subtle, I only decorated my side-view mirrors, hood and put a few ribbons.”
Rania said she wasn’t sure where she was going to take her car on December 2, but it was most likely that she would take part in the festivities in Downtown Boulevard.
