- Small and medium sized - or independent retailers (IR) key to national economy
- Jumbo’s first ever Mobile Festival for UAE IR provides investment and incentives for growth
- Jumbo supports UAE economy through measures such as micro-credit for small and medium sized retailers
- Initiatives embrace incentive schemes; platforms for knowledge sharing and best practices
Dubai, United Arab Emirates – 2 March 2016: Jumbo Electronics, the UAE’s leading distributor and retailer for IT and consumer electronics, recently successfully launched the ‘Jumbo Mobile Festival’ to encourage the growth and business development of its independent retail (IR) channel partners. This was the first-of-its-kind smartphone festival aimed to develop opportunities and boost sales for small and medium retailers, who are also often collectively known as the independent retail channel.
Vishesh Bhatia, Chief Executive Officer of Jumbo Group explained why the company had launched the new initiative. “Small and medium-sized retailers are one of the keys to national economic growth, and require the industry’s wholehearted support. The Jumbo Mobile Festival is a key example of how distributors like Jumbo and global brands can collaborate to encourage this sector.”
Jumbo has historically been a front-runner in supporting the UAE’s economy through measures such as micro-credit schemes for small and medium retailers. “Many small shopkeepers do not have ready credit that enables them to buy products. They often also lack training and resources. We support them with facilities such as sales vans, road shows, and training. This not only helps them but also helps our partner brands as it increases their market penetration with an end-to-end network covering everyone from super retailers to small shops,” added Mr Bhatia.
The 45 day festival was organised by Jumbo’s Mobility & Solutions division and was launched in January 2016 with the active support of key dealers from across the UAE, as well as Jumbo’s brand partners such as Du, Lava, Wiko, Hisense, LG and Obi.
Participating retailers were incentivised through rewards based on sales performance. Jumbo and its partner brands also provided considerable investments in advertising support, leaflet distribution and awareness generation in select locations, trained promoters for activations, provided branded merchandise and in-store promotional materials.
Winners of the Jumbo Mobile Festival were announced at the Awards Night, which hosted over 200 independent retailers at the Raffles Hotel earlier this week. Regional representatives of prominent international brands supporting this initiative were also present at the awards.
Ajay Pathak, Head – Mobility & Solutions Division, Jumbo Electronics, commented: “We saw participation from over 400 independent retailers, who make up 50% of the UAE’s retail mobile phone landscape. We are grateful for the generous support of our partner brands, which highlights their commitment to the UAE as a key market.”
“LG was pleased to partner with Jumbo for the highly creative Mobile Festival. As a brand, we are continually looking at implementing ways to strengthen our existing portfolio of innovative products, and as always, Jumbo has demonstrated their ability to think ahead and their willingness to create tangible benefits for its partners,” explained Mohamed El Yassir, Vice President – Sales, LG Middle East Africa.
“Lava has had much success in international markets and, through our partnership with Jumbo, we are confident of consolidating and expanding our presence in the UAE, Oman, Kuwait, Qatar, and Bahrain. The Jumbo Mobile Festival has been a great initiative that highlights Jumbo’s proactive support of the channel and vendors. We are committed to supporting this initiative, and look forward to more opportunities,” said Khizar Ulla – Head of Business, Middle East for Lava.
“The Jumbo Mobile Festival is a unique concept and a first for the IR channel in the country. At Wiko, we are very impressed with the results which have not only increased sales but also provided support, recognition & growth opportunity to IR channel partners,” added Mandar Bhide, Regional Director, Middle East & Africa, at Wiko Mobiles.
Jumbo’s other initiatives for small and medium retailers include ongoing incentive schemes, and creating regular platforms for knowledge sharing, which includes potential channel expansion strategies, updates on local trends and changes in customer behaviour, benchmarks against industry performance and best practices.