A bargain-hunters dream, the Dubai Shopping Festival has begun and will run at select malls across the emirate until January 28. As in previous years, the 22nd edition of DSF will offer discounts of up to 75 per cent across a wide range of stores in addition to musical entertainment, raffle prize draws and fashion shows. Check out some highlights of this season’s event dubbed ‘Shop. Win. Celebrate.’
12-hour New Year shopping
A special promotion running on New Year’s Day will include exclusive sales from 12pm-12am offering up to 90% discounts at participating retailers. Outlets taking part can be found within Mall of the Emirates, City Centre Mirdif, City Centre Deira, City Centre Me’aisem, City Centre Al Barsh and City Centre Al Shindagha. Select restaurants and cafes will also be offering meal deals. Visitors can also enter a prize draw, when they spend a minimum of Dh200, and stand to win Dh50,000 in mall gift vouchers. The raffle draws will take place at 12am at Mall of the Emirates on January 2.
VISA card ‘impossible deals’
Every day throughout DSF, VISA customers will be able to take advantage of discounted deals when using their card. Promotions include 20-80% reductions on electronics, travel, entertainment, luxury goods and cars. Slashed prices also extend to Careem, Damas, Ahmed Seddiqi and Sharaf DG.
Infiniti mega raffle
The annual Infiniti Mega Raffle returns to the Dubai Shopping Festival with one shopper set to win an Infiniti QX70 plus Dh150,000 in cash every day. Raffle tickets may be purchased for Dh200 from EPPCO and ENOC petrol stations and select Dubai shopping centres. Daily raffle draws will takes place at 10pm live on SAMA Dubai TV.
Gold bullion up for grabs
The Dubai Gold and Jewellery Group (DGJG) is running a promotion for shoppers spending a minimum Dh500 at participating jewellery outlets in Dubai. One winner daily will receive half a kilo of gold while two others will each win quarter kilos of gold. On the final day of DSF 2017, one shopper will walk away with the grand prize of 1 kilo of gold. A total of 100 winners will be picked over DSF’s 34-day run and the daily draws will take place in Deira’s Gold Souk.
Beauty Week
From January 5-14, Galeries Lafayette in The Dubai Mall will feature Beauty Week. Shoppers will be offered make-up tutorials, free nail varnish applications and makeovers from Givenchy’s regional beauty experts. On January 12 at 7pm Joelle Mardinian will be offering free hair and skin consultations against the backdrop of musical entertainment.
Damas launch with Nancy Ajram
Damas Jewellery has collaborated with DSF to bring the popular Arabic singer Nancy Ajram to Dubai Mall this festive season. She will host a meet-and-greet with fans in the mall’s Grand Atrium on January 17 and officially launch the new Farfasha collection by Damas.
The Ripe Market in Zabeel Park
Every Friday through January, from 9am until 5pm, Zabeel Park will play host to The Ripe Market. The space will feature fresh, seasonal, organic, local and handmade produce by Dubai’s local businesses. In addition to food stalls there will be live cooking stations, arts and crafts stands, fashion brands, fitness workshops, live entertainment, yoga, children’s activities and much more.
DSF fireworks
Dubai Shopping Festival and fireworks go hand-in-hand and this year key locations around the city will put on displays which are free for the public to attend. Starting at 8.30pm, The Beach at Jumeirah Beach Residence will have shows from December 26-29, January 5-7 and January 19-21 and Dubai’s Kite Beach will host similar displays from December 26-29, January 12-14 and January 26-28.
For full details of DSF's 2017 calendar of events, visit www.visitdubai.com/en/dsf
rduane@thenational.ae
2.0
Director: S Shankar
Producer: Lyca Productions; presented by Dharma Films
Cast: Rajnikanth, Akshay Kumar, Amy Jackson, Sudhanshu Pandey
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
GIANT REVIEW
Starring: Amir El-Masry, Pierce Brosnan
Director: Athale
Rating: 4/5
Tips for SMEs to cope
- Adapt your business model. Make changes that are future-proof to the new normal
- Make sure you have an online presence
- Open communication with suppliers, especially if they are international. Look for local suppliers to avoid delivery delays
- Open communication with customers to see how they are coping and be flexible about extending terms, etc
Courtesy: Craig Moore, founder and CEO of Beehive, which provides term finance and working capital finance to SMEs. Only SMEs that have been trading for two years are eligible for funding from Beehive.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Abu Dhabi GP schedule
Friday: First practice - 1pm; Second practice - 5pm
Saturday: Final practice - 2pm; Qualifying - 5pm
Sunday: Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (55 laps) - 5.10pm
Multitasking pays off for money goals
Tackling money goals one at a time cost financial literacy expert Barbara O'Neill at least $1 million.
That's how much Ms O'Neill, a distinguished professor at Rutgers University in the US, figures she lost by starting saving for retirement only after she had created an emergency fund, bought a car with cash and purchased a home.
"I tell students that eventually, 30 years later, I hit the million-dollar mark, but I could've had $2 million," Ms O'Neill says.
Too often, financial experts say, people want to attack their money goals one at a time: "As soon as I pay off my credit card debt, then I'll start saving for a home," or, "As soon as I pay off my student loan debt, then I'll start saving for retirement"."
People do not realise how costly the words "as soon as" can be. Paying off debt is a worthy goal, but it should not come at the expense of other goals, particularly saving for retirement. The sooner money is contributed, the longer it can benefit from compounded returns. Compounded returns are when your investment gains earn their own gains, which can dramatically increase your balances over time.
"By putting off saving for the future, you are really inhibiting yourself from benefiting from that wonderful magic," says Kimberly Zimmerman Rand , an accredited financial counsellor and principal at Dragonfly Financial Solutions in Boston. "If you can start saving today ... you are going to have a lot more five years from now than if you decide to pay off debt for three years and start saving in year four."
Teaching in coronavirus times
How it works
1) The liquid nanoclay is a mixture of water and clay that aims to convert desert land to fertile ground
2) Instead of water draining straight through the sand, it apparently helps the soil retain water
3) One application is said to last five years
4) The cost of treatment per hectare (2.4 acres) of desert varies from $7,000 to $10,000 per hectare
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THE LOWDOWN
Photograph
Rating: 4/5
Produced by: Poetic License Motion Pictures; RSVP Movies
Director: Ritesh Batra
Cast: Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Sanya Malhotra, Farrukh Jaffar, Deepak Chauhan, Vijay Raaz
Jiu-jitsu calendar of events for 2017-2018:
August 5:
Round-1 of the President’s Cup in Al Ain.
August 11-13:
Asian Championship in Vietnam.
September 8-9:
Ajman International.
September 16-17
Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games, Ashgabat.
September 22-24:
IJJF Balkan Junior Open, Montenegro.
September 23-24:
Grand Slam Los Angeles.
September 29:
Round-1 Mother of The Nation Cup.
October 13-14:
Al Ain U18 International.
September 20-21:
Al Ain International.
November 3:
Round-2 Mother of The National Cup.
November 4:
Round-2 President’s Cup.
November 10-12:
Grand Slam Rio de Janeiro.
November 24-26:
World Championship, Columbia.
November 30:
World Beach Championship, Columbia.
December 8-9:
Dubai International.
December 23:
Round-3 President’s Cup, Sharjah.
January 12-13:
Grand Slam Abu Dhabi.
January 26-27:
Fujairah International.
February 3:
Round-4 President’s Cup, Al Dhafra.
February 16-17:
Ras Al Khaimah International.
February 23-24:
The Challenge Championship.
March 10-11:
Grand Slam London.
March 16:
Final Round – Mother of The Nation.
March 17:
Final Round – President’s Cup.
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
