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Retailers urged to cut prices to boost tourism
by This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it on Tuesday, 13 January 2009Posted on Sunday, 15 February 2009
Take a stance!
Posted by jj at 15:31 UAE time
Perhaps its time for consumers to take a stand. DO not purchase the luxury items and as posted by Jon, only buy the essentials where needed. Retailers need to realize and see the impact of this.
As well this is supposed to be a tax free country however the prices of goods seem to already have included a large tax factor in it.
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Posted on Tuesday, 20 January 2009
Dubai Ripoff
Posted by Suleman Ayub Khan at 00:47 UAE time
The Fairytale is OVER! Dubai "once upon a time" was a place to "live Happily ever after" but this was not the case, just for the reasons that my friends have mentioned above in different comments, Dubai is going down & will continue to do so.
I Booked a Studio apartment in Dubai International City in 2004, i was given possession in late 2007, the rentals since then have been more than i ever wished for & i got a resident visa but this was all i was to get apart from these two priviliges i cant imagine moving to Dubai because of its Ripoff costs from grocery to luxuries not to mention the education, utilities & Saleks. The traffic chaos & the killing summer sun is another major down.
The recent meltdown of the boom, the global economic crisis & the mass exodous from Dubai will teach a lesson to its administrators how they should have modelled it & that the castles they built from the toil of the subcontinental people whom they treated like animals will take its toll.
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Posted on Friday, 16 January 2009
Rental prices are the reason prices in Dubai are so high
Posted by Andy at 08:57 UAE time
One of the biggest factors of retail prices being so high in the Dubai malls is due to the rents being charged. To say the least is that their rental rates are no less of a monopoly than their telecom company Etisalat is.
It is actually cheaper to buy stuff in places like Egypt, Syria and many other countries than it is to buy stuff in Dubai. I find Dubai a complete rip-off in the malls for shopping. Most retail prices are far more expensive than they are in Europe and in Hong-Kong. There should be no reason prices are so high when there are no import duties and while employee wages are at nearly half of what they are in Europe or most parts of Asia.
It may be cheaper to get fuel and buy cars in Dubai but the government more than makes up for it by gouging the people with telecom rates, rental rates, utility rates, toll fees, visa/residency fees and community fees on homes purchased.
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Posted on Thursday, 15 January 2009
Dubai Prices
Posted by Jon at 10:35 UAE time
I only buy day to day essentials in Dubai now. The place is such a rip off and I make any "major" purchases outside of Dubai. I just bought THREE suits in London for less than the price of ONE in Dubai when I compared the prices for the same suit. It just reinforced my belief never to buy here as it is cheaper to fly to London and buy the same!!
...oh, that's not flying Emirates of course, as they are more expensive than any other carrier as well!!
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Posted on Wednesday, 14 January 2009
Timely article - bigger perspective
Posted by Nuts at 23:58 UAE time
It is a very timely article, however, the article could have elaborated further to highlight the impact for Dubai. The Prime contributors to the Dubai GDP are trading, tourism and in recent years real estate.. Real estate prices have made the cost of doing business high (both for business premises and staff accomodation), this results in the final merchandise or service having a significant mark-up. Both these impact the tourism sector extensively. While prices are being compared with UK and other European countries, It is also to be noted, that the GDP of these countries are not dependent to the extent that Dubai is on Tourism and Trade (Free Trade hubs). The trade in these countries are driven by way of manufacturing and export, not import and re-export. (Import and re-export trade would be moved by the trader to a economically viable country when cost of trading increases). Hence if prices are high in these countries, it may result in marginal growth for these sectors but can result in negative growth for an economy like Dubai.
Dubai needs to stop being in denial.....and face the realities.
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Tourism in Dubai
Posted by John at 15:57 UAE time
Why would any tourist choose Dubai, when hotel and retail prices are through the roof and the beaches are unusable due sewage?
Wonder why the local government are so quiet about these matters, wouldn't it be in their interest to help boost all kinds of tourism in Dubai?
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retailers need to reduce thir prices
Posted by george at 15:43 UAE time
I am an owner of a mens wear company in a welll known mall in Dubai. I agree totaly with this article and price perception of visiting tourists is very important, if they find prices more expensive than in the Uk then they will not shop here any more. On the other hand from the retailer point of view landlords are mainly to blame. They are very happy to increase the rents for retailers making it difficult for them to make a good profit. What comes next is very normal behaviour, the retailer tries to juggle by pushing up prices in order to continue to be able to meet his previous sale expectations and make a profit. It is very important for the government to put pressure onthe shopping mall owners rather than create more headache for the retail outlets. I am sure that I am sure that this would help Dubai restore its old status of being tax free.
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Can not agree more!!
Posted by SR at 15:19 UAE time
A pair of Levi's jeans that I bought in Boston for USD 36, costs over AED 200 in Dubai, a Nike T-shirt bought for USD 20, costs over AED 120..... the list can go on.
Add to that the atrocious service standard in Dubai.
I think these guys have to slash prices by over 40% just to come to the level in the US / Europe.
And to lure tourists, they will have to make it still much cheaper.
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UAE - Very expensive
Posted by Obelix at 14:29 UAE time
I've been following the prices of electronics and have just found out that even KSA is 10% cheaper than Dubai.
Am in KSA at present. Anyone wants anything from here ? Every single shop in every single mall has a sale sign. Given the nature of my work I have visited over 10 mall in the last two days :)
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OVER RATED
Posted by Shehryar Iqbal at 13:50 UAE time
Being a cabin crew i travel all around the world and have realized the fact that Dubai is Over rated from all aspects, may be it the basics like housing or education. Please do understand this is not the debate over '' if you dont like it then leave'' but its simply unjustified and to an extent unfair. We all work very hard for our money and to pay such a high price for such things is simply too much. I would rather pay high taxes and work more hard to live in a country like U.S.A or Canada where atleast i wont be repatriated if i loose my job. Remember ladies and gents if you think you are settled just because of the numbers of years you spent in your job Think again!! The question is are you secure ?
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Extortionate prices
Posted by Cynical shopper at 13:35 UAE time
A couple of years ago, M&S and other shops like that sold their goods cheaper than the UK, which you could see from the UK price tags left on. There's no reason for prices out here to be higher now, as any costs are experienced by the UK aswell. It's another way to rip off the population. I live here, but generally shop and bring a case full of stuff back from the UK. Dubai should think about the revenue it's losing from residents alone. Tourists - unless you're a beach fan, why come now when it's so expensive - Shopping Festival???! Hardly sustainable in these circumstances.
When do the Greedy People in Dubai realise that the notion of high prices do not make a place 'exclusive' but rather 'unaffordable'. Ex-pats are already leaving Dubai because of this, and now the Tourist Industry is going to start suffering too. You reap what you sow - in the future no-one will come here and you will be left with a lot of empty buildings and malls that will crumble back into the desert.
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Agree to all the comments by my fellow Dubai residents
Posted by Arjun at 13:01 UAE time
It is all true....the consumers have already felt the pinch shopping in Dubai. If you are able to get products at cheaper elsewhere preferably online then why should'nt i buy it? A reader had left a comment on buying a Nikon D90 pro camera and he is absolutely right about it. I went to check out the price over here in one of the malls and found it to be 43% more expensive....NUTS!!!!! I called a friend of mine and he picke dit up for me in the United States and i had the product in 4 working days with me. Similarly as the rents go up and operating costs going up everyday it is tough for the retailers and the franchisees to run the business. However with the slow demise of the tourism sector here for the current fiscal due to the recession we have to wait and watch how the businesses react to this. We anywayz have a choice but not the retailers. Let them keep the prices inflated, Bloated and get themselves booted in their cash registers.
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its really simple - save your shopping for when you go away.
Posted by max hooper at 12:46 UAE time
the prices here are crazy. I am from the UK and often watch the differences in prices between UK, USA and UAE. As a result, I do most of my clothes shopping in the UK - taking an one more empty case with me when i go back. the only way retailers will listen is they see their store revenues fall.
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The Bottomline
Posted by A reader at 11:08 UAE time
I guess the root to all this inflation is the Rent hike. Reduce the rents and all the prices will come down automatically.
Compare the Dubai rents to that in Asian cities as well as Europe.. The difference will be phenomenal.. and there, you will get your answer to all the questions!!
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Pricing
Posted by John at 10:41 UAE time
Al shaya for years never even took the uk price tags off merchandise. When you did the comparisons it was always 15 - 17% more expensive than the UK. How is that for total arrogance? As someone already posted yesterdays stock at tomorrows pricing... I am surprised that amy electrical retailers exist Carrefour undercuts every store in the mall.... who pay rent to the franchisee of errmmm the mall...makes sense....
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