iPhone 6 vs BlackBerry Passport: Gitex Shopper availability

With several new products hitting the stands this year and more attractive discounts and bundles, many retailers hope sales could go up by at least 15 per cent at this year’s Gitex Shopper.

However, all eyes are on the iPhone 6, 6 Plus and the BlackBerry Passport.

There are people from India flying in to shop for the new iPhones and BlackBerry Passports.

Despite the high profile launches, both, the iPhones and the newly launched BlackBerry Passport, are currently not available for sale anywhere in Dubai.

Retailers are hoping to replenish iPhone 6 and 6 Plus stocks by this evening or tomorrow morning.

“Nothing is certain we are trying our best to bring in more stocks,” said Khanzadah.

It is the same with BlackBerry Passport.

“There is a lot of interest in the device. But we don’t even have a working model to show. It’s a shame,” said the staff manning the BlackBerry stands at Emax.

“However, you can still prebook a Passport for Dh2,699 and get a free air ticket worth almost Dh1,500. That technically brings down the price of the device to just a little more than Dh1,000,” he added.

Hayssam Yassine, Head, Telecommunications Group, Samsung Gulf Electronics, ,meanwhile said he is expecting an increase in sales of at least 15 per cent this Gitex Shopper.

“Even we have our ongoing Note 4 pre-orders. The interest has been good so far,” he said.

Mahesh Chotrani, Associate Vice-President, Retail at Jackys Electronics says the first day visitor numbers were quite good.

“You will see it growing as the show progresses. Expect it to peak during the last few days and so will the sales figures,” he said.

Nadeem Khanzadah, Head of Retail at Jumbo Electronics says the combination of Eid holidays and the last days of Gitex could mean an increase in the numbers not just from UAE but from across the GCC.

“This year we are expecting bigger numbers from GCC and other countries,” he said.

In 2013, the total sales at Shopper alone crossed Dh245 million an increase of 3.3 per cent compared to the 2012 edition and a 26.9 per cent increase compared to 2011 edition of Gitex Shopper where the overall sales stood at Dh193m.
 

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