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'harman house' reports 142 per cent sales growth during DSF 2011

Shopping festival consumers concentrated on electronic products offering innovative technology and value for money

'harman house', the leading retail chain in home, professional and car infotainment in the Middle East, has reported strong sales performance during the first half of this year's edition of the Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF) - indicating a 142 per cent growth during the event. The reported growth demonstrates the company's strengthening foothold in the UAE market and the newfound consumer trend of preferences for electronic products that feature key innovative technology and present the most value for money. The festival, which has become one of the most awaited sales event in the UAE, witnessed a strong demand in consumer products categories like Blu-ray players, home theatre systems, I-pod docking stations, and Samsung LED & LCD TV's experienced the highest level of demand across all 'harman house' outlets. Sales reports further show the breakdown as 12 per cent for Blu-ray players; 33 per cent for home theatre systems; 20 per cent for I-pod docking stations and headphones, and 35 per cent for Samsung LED & LCD TV's.

Flat screen television sets were in large demand during the festival with the Samsung 40-inch LED models and the 32-inch LCD's as the reported best sellers in participating 'harman house' outlets. One of the key highlights made by 'harman house' during the festival was the launch of the Harman Kardon BDS Series of Blu-Ray Disc enabled home entertainment systems. With the increase in the sales of flat-screen TVs over the past few years, 'harman house' has noted that home theatre systems and the launch of the BDS series has offered consumers a truly complete home cinema experience that demands premium-quality visuals and sound, and complete value for money.

"DSF continues to live up as one of the Middle East region's most strategic and most successful shopping festivals," said Amit Malani, President, Harman Middle East. "The event has become a strategic platform for leading retailers to showcase their products and services across a diverse set of consumers. This year's edition has shown a significant increase in footfall at 'harman house' stores - being able to post 142 per cent growth during first half of the event, is a testament of the trust that our customers have in the quality and technology they get along with value for their money. No other retailer can match the promise of delivering a complete high quality home cinema and entertainment system the way 'harman house' does."

The BDS range comprises of five complete home cinema systems and two electronics-only systems, featuring the functionality of a combined A/V receiver and Blu-ray Disc player. With its elegant look and compact design, the BDS Series is perfect for any flat-screen TV. Other features include Blu-ray Disc playback with BD-Live compatibility, high-definition 1080p picture quality, high video and audio performance from supported input sources like TV, Blu-ray Disc, DVD, CD, radio, USB and iPod and iPhone models. The BDS Series of Blu-ray Disc-enabled home entertainment systems will be offered at a stand alone price of AED 2,999; whereas when packaged with Harman Kardon HKTS 9 speaker system it will be available at AED 3,999; and with HKTS 11 it is AED 4,999.

'harman house' is focusing on delivering more value to customers for each purchase of its bundle offers and promotions during DSF 2011, including 10 to 50 per cent discount on products sold in-store. Gift items such as DVD players, camcorders, 3D Blue-Ray Disk players, and 3D starter kits are given away, while customers will also enjoy value-added privileges such as Skyward Miles and interest-free payment plan on credit cards of leading banks for purchases made before 20th February 2011.

"The increase in demand for LED / LCD TV's and home theatre systems have so far been dictated by global sporting events, price declines and key shopping events like the DSF. We remain confident that this trend will continue to progress towards the rest of the year. The DSF has allowed us to start on good campaign offers in our growing line of home entertainment products and we will continue to live up to what we started for 2011 - offering unique promotions for high quality products," concluded Malani.

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About HARMAN
HARMAN (www.harman.com) designs, manufactures and markets a wide range of audio and infotainment solutions for the automotive, consumer and professional markets - supported by 15 leading brands including AKG®, Harman Kardon® Infinity® JBL®, Lexicon® and Mark Levinson®. The Company is admired by audiophiles across multiple generations and supports leading professional entertainers and the venues where they perform. More than 20 million automobiles on the road today are equipped with HARMAN audio and infotainment systems. HARMAN has a workforce of about 11,000 people across Americas, Europe and Asia, and reported sales of $3.4 billion for its fiscal year ended June 30, 2010. The Company's shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol NYSE: HAR.

About Harman Middle East
Harman Middle East is a market leader in home, professional and car infotainment in the Middle East. Comprised of three key business lines - 'Retail', 'Distribution' and 'Projects Division' - the company offers home theatres, multimedia systems, wired and wireless headphones, plasma and LCD TVs, car audio and navigation from the world's leading audiovisual brands, including Harman Kardon, JBL, Infinity, Samsung, AKG, Becker and MAFCO. The company was also involved in the installation of audio and video systems for Virgin Megastores in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, among other high profile clients. With local stores located in The Dubai Mall, Sheikh Zayed Road, Mall of the Emirates, Mirdif City Centre, Ibn Batuta Mall, Dubai Festival City, Deira City Centre and Al Nasr Square in Dubai; Marina Mall in Abu Dhabi; and Sharjah City Centre, the company also has two showrooms in KSA, one in Bahrain, and one in Qatar.

For more information, please contact:
CommuniGate Middle East
PO Box 66861, Dubai, UAE
Tel: +971 4 3988134
Fax: +971 4 3988137
Email: info@communigateme.com
Website: www.communigateme.com

© Press Release 2011