Sunday, Feb 13, 2011

Gulf News

Most of the credit goes to the DSF gold promotion wherein the 32-day campaign offers visitors and shoppers a chance to win 21 kilograms of gold worth Dh3.5 million through raffle draws.

Dubai: The Dubai Shopping Festival gold promotion has added a lot of sheen to the gold sales in the first two weeks of the festival. According to top gold retailers, gold and jewellery sales have witnessed an average increase of 25-30 per cent in this period.

Most of the credit goes to the DSF gold promotion wherein the 32-day campaign offers visitors and shoppers a chance to win 21 kilograms of gold worth Dh3.5 million through raffle draws. Also, as a part of the promotion, shoppers who spend Dh500 on gold jewellery at the participating outlets can win half a kilogram of gold daily and five kilograms on the last day of the festival. Meanwhile, those who spend Dh1,000 on diamond jewellery, pearls or watches get an opportunity to win Dh3 million in cash through a scratch-and-win promotion.

Malabar Gold, a first-time participant in the DSF gold promotion, has gained immensely from the promotions. According to the owner, Shamlal Ahmad, sales at Malabar Gold outlets increased by 30 per cent in the first two weeks of DSF. We expect a 40 per cent increase in our sales for the entire DSF month. The DSF gold promotions have boosted our sales, he pointed out, adding that the marketing and advertising campaigns for DSF as well as the attractive prizes and gold promotions are attracting millions of people from across the globe.

These tourists are our target market. And these promotions help us to increase sales as people feel that this is a perfect occasion to buy gold, he said.

Dramatic increase

Atlas Jewellery recorded a dramatic increase in the initial couple of weeks of DSF, according to Srikanth Ramachandran, owner of the group. We have recorded a good 20 per cent jump in our gold and jewellery sales with just two weeks into DSF and I am confident that our sales will soar 30 per cent during the entire DSF period, he said.

More than anything, our raffle boxes are filled to the brim, proving that the DSF promotion has worked wonders. We wanted to get the gold promotion back on track to show that Dubai is back in business.

The DSF gold promotion has made a comeback after a two-year gap. Supporting the belief is Ajay Mitra, World Gold Councils Managing Director for Middle East and Turkey. He said: It has been a good start for gold at this years Dubai Shopping Festival. We have seen the evidence of increased tourist footfall, with interest in both the 22 karat and 18 karat segments.

There has also been real enthusiasm for the Bag of Fortune campaign, with both residents and tourists alike keen to try and win gold prizes every day. Were looking forward to the last two exciting weeks of the festival.

Damas, one of the biggest gold retailers in the country, too, witnessed a jump in gold and jewellery sales during the initial DSF period. Anan Fakhreddin, CEO of Damas, said: The DSF promotions have helped the retail sector tremendously. We have seen a marked increase in footfall in most of our stores. Dubai Gold and Jewellery Groups promotions have greatly helped to increase interest among consumers.

Government initiative

DSF is a fantastic initiative by the Dubai Government designed to help retailers like ourselves to attract tourists and more shoppers. By supporting DSF we hope to be part of this great initiative that will benefit the economy and our trade, he added.

Supporting the price factor is also Tomy Joseph, General Manager Marketing at Joyalukkas Jewellery. Gold sales have definitely picked up during the DSF period. We have experienced a 20-25 per cent jump already in our sales owing to the drop in gold prices as well as the DSF gold promotions. We are expecting to close the DSF overall with a 25-30 per cent jump in sales. Besides the raffles, the half-kilo gold promotion is generating huge interest from shoppers, he said.

The campaign runs till February 20 in all participating jewellery outlets. To take part in the raffle draws, customers need to spend up to Dh500 on jewellery purchases.

Staff Report

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