Why exhibit at MEE
The UAE and wider Middle East continues to be one of the retail success stories of the decade – particularly within the travel retail sector. Airport expansion plans are further boosting travel retail potential, triggering unprecedented opportunities for travel and luxury retail operators.
Having a presence at MEE The World Travel Retail, Duty Free & Luxury Goods Exhibition brings a wealth of measurable benefits including:
• Ensuring your company’s visibility to well over 2,000 visitors, representing key travel retail players who work in all sectore across this booming region – so presenting your brand to one of the world’s most receptive and captive audiences of duty free retailers;
• Positioning your company and products among the world’s leading premium brands, many of which regularly exhibit at mee every year;
• Having the opportunity, through our unique Hosted Buyers Programme, to spend face-to-face time with some of the region’s most important buyers and duty free operators from airlines, airports, border shops, ships, hotels and seaports from across the Middle East, North Africa, CIS Nations, Levant region and the Indian Sub-Continent;
• Gaining supplier listings with duty free operators, airlines and other travel retail customers;
• Showcasing your products and brand portfolio to key stakeholders, so maximising the opportunity for appointing distributors and agents;
• Clinching key accounts and closing high volume business with major customers;
• Guaranteed networking opportunities – both at the exhibition, and at the excellent ‘after hours’ events, including the mee golf tournament, the mee gala dinner on the first night and an additional networking event on the second evening of the exhitibition, giving you the opportunity to renew contacts and strengthen business relationships.
Outperforming the world
According to Generation Research, the Middle East is the only region with increased sales (2.6%) in the first half of 2009, compared to worldwide sales falling by 7.4%.
In Abu Dhabi, duty-free sales rose 12% in 2009 – compared with 2008 – in part due to an additional 2,600 m² of retail space and a boost from visitors to the Formula One Grand Prix.
And sales at Dubai Duty Free rose nearly 3% in 2009, to $1.14 billion – making it the biggest single airport retail operation in the world. First quarter results for 2010 are showing significant signs of a return in consumer confidence with sales rising a massive 21% to $307 million, compared to the first three months of 2009.
Just two examples from a region which is experiencing similar growth virtually across the board.
2011 statistics
| Visitors by type of business (%) | |
Duty free operator 24 |
|
Retailer 20 |
|
Distr/agent/wholesaler/supplier 16 |
|
Hotel 10 |
|
Department store 8 |
|
Ship chandler 8 |
|
Manufacturer/supplier 6 |
|
Shopping mall operator 3 |
|
Press 2 |
|
| Visitors by product interest (%) * | |
Fashion & fashion accessories 29 |
|
Fine food/confectionery 28 |
|
Cosmetics & perfumes 27 |
|
Watches/clocks 27 |
|
Gifts & giftware 26 |
|
Jewellery 25 |
|
Tobacco products 22 |
|
Liquor & fine wine 18 |
|
Luggage & leather goods 15 |
|
Electronics 14 |
|
Cameras/mobile phones 12 |
|
Toys 11 |
|
| * Visitors could choose more than one interest | |
| Origin of visitors (%) | |
UAE 43 |
|
Rest of the Middle East 31 |
|
Africa 11 |
|
Asia 9 |
|
Eastern Europe/CIS 4 |
|
Rest of the World 2 |
|