A jewellery group has had to rethink an offer of a free du SIM card following an overwhelming response.
Long queues formed outside ARY Group outlets in Dubai as word spread about the promotion.
Initially the deal was open to everyone but now the offer will extend only to those who have bought goods from the company.
ARY Group, set up in Dubai by Pakistani businessman Haji Abdul Razzak Yaqoob, has interests in the media, real estate and trading sectors.The offer was promoted through its own TV channel, ARY Digital, which is aimed at viewers from India and Pakistan.
Thousands of people applied for the promotion by sending an SMS and then thronged to the stores to pick up their SIMs.
Rizwan Sheikh, Head of Marketing at ARY Group, confirmed that the rules of the scheme had been changed in the middle of the campaign.
He said: "The free SIM card offer is still open but now you have to send an SMS and registration is only for people who buy from our outlets." "A customer has to be a member of our loyalty card programme to receive a SIM. About 70 outlets are participating in the offer and the number is growing daily.
"Between 35,000 to 40,000 customers have signed up for the loyalty programme and the free SIM card offer is still valid. We have tied up with du for the promotion." Siddiq Khalid, 32, who was among those who availed himself of the offer, said: "After sending an SMS, I got a reply saying my registration request was accepted. After receiving the response message, I went to the ARY jewellery shop in Gold Souq. I saw at least 150 people waiting in a queue to get free SIM cards. After filling in a form I got a card. Several people from India and Pakistan were at the outlet." The ARY Group deal is not the only promotion centred on du SIM cards. The telecom firm is offering a card effectively for just one dirham. A customer pays Dh155 for a card and receives Dh154 worth of calls making the net cost Dh1.
But the ARY Group offer is even better. It costs Dh3 to send an SMS to apply for registration but the SIM card comes with Dh10 of calling time. So the net gain is Dh7 and you get a free card.
By VM Sathish
© Emirates Today 2007
