Sales at this year’s Dubai Summer Surprises (DSS) festival are up 10 percent on the year, the event’s organiser has claimed, despite major retailers reporting revenue declines of up to 35 percent.
Total retail sales rose 10 percent increase during the festival’s first half, the Dubai Shopping Festival Office (DFSO) said in a statement, citing a report from the Dubai Shopping Malls Group (DSMG).
It did not say whether sales per participating outlet was also higher.
“These results affirm not only Dubai’s premiere position as the leading retail and tourism hub of the region, but also strongly enhance the status of DSS as the Middle East’s most influential summer spectacle,” said DSFO chief executive Laila Suhail.
“More importantly, the success of DSS is helping to restore consumer confidence and will hopefully sustain the momentum of Dubai’s continuing progress.”
The number of visitors from the GCC was up by 36.5 percent in the period, DFSO said, without providing any data on the number of shoppers from outside the region.
Occupancy at the city’s hotels reached 70 percent in the period, it said.
Luxury retail group BinHendi Enterprises on Tuesday described sales during this year’s DSS as “incomparable” with last year’s, while midmarket retailers have said revenue is down by up to 35 percent.
“We see no signs of improvement. Sales are down by 25 to 35 percent,” Mohammed Hafiz, chief executive of Al Sawani Group, which holds the Middle East rights for brands such as Adidas, Dolce & Gabbana and Esprit, told Arabian Business in a recent interview.
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