Gov't offers retailers four-month licence for discounts

The Dubai government is granting retailers a four-month licence for discounts and promotions in a bid to shore up the city’s ailing retail sector.

Dubai shoppers can look forward to a four-month discount season starting this month, following a decision by the Dubai government to combine four different sale seasons under one licence.

These are the Dubai Summer Surprises festival, Ramadan, Eid Al Fitr and the back to school season, Laila Suhail, CEO of the Dubai Shopping Festival, said on Sunday.

“This year we have a special promotion plan for the retailers, whereby we are giving them a four month permission period,” she said.

“The Dubai Shopping Festival is one of the agencies of the Department of Economic Development and our objective is to support the retail sector, and that is why this extended promotion period will cover four different seasons.”

Retailers in Dubai usually have to apply, and pay a significant amount of money, for a special permit every time they want to hold a sale.

But as the dollar strengthened and tourism slowed, many have struggled under high rents and aggressive expansion plans that were conceived at the height of a five-year economic boom in the emirate.

The chairman of the Dubai Malls Group, Majid Al Ghurair, said that in the future, retailers could not expect the type of returns they got used to during the last three years.

Some retailers have seen a drop in sales of up to 30 percent since the beginning of the year.

“We are seeing that drop leveling off now and hopefully the summer will be a good indication for us of how things will go forward. If it’s not going to increase sales, Dubai Summer Surprises should at least stabilise them,” he said.

Majid Al Futaim, the largest developer of shopping malls in the Middle East, usually has a strong summer season, Shahram Shamsaee, a senior vice president of the group’s shopping mall division, told Arabian Business last week.

“Traditionally, believe it or not, we have a strong summer, because of the regional tourism and the climate,” he said.

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