The Dubai sports retailer Sun & Sand Sports will be rooting for the Samba Boys in their Fifa World Cup clash with Colombia on Friday night, as Brazil football shirts outsell all other merchandise.
Gulf Marketing Group (GMG), the parent of Sun & Sand Sports, is in the middle of a year of unprecedented expansion with more than 40 new outlets.
That is the medium-term plan; in the short term, the World Cup takes precedence.
“The summer is very slow for bikes, kayaks, golf equipment and tennis rackets. We have sold lots of football jerseys for the World Cup, that has been our No 1 sale item. Brazil has been the most popular,” said Ronald, a sales assistant at a Sun & Sand Sports outlet in Dubai.
And if Brazil can get the better of Colombia in tonight’s quarter-final match, that could mean more yellow-and-green jerseys coming off the shelves.
In non-World Cup years the Arabian Peninsula’s summertime heat and humidity are especially hard on the region’s sports shops, with expenditure focused on the apparel and footwear that are worn in the region’s air-conditioned gyms. Indeed, shoppers might associate Sun & Sand Sports with stacks of price-slashed trainers and football boots that greet most customers at its doors.
This turnover in sports shoes is driven by a desire to get new product on the shelves as the region’s retailers enjoy a return of consumer confidence.
Such is the resurgence of retailing in the region that GMG is growing at the fastest pace in its history, which began in 1978, with a Sun & Sand Sports shop following in Dubai’s Jumeirah in 1979.
The parent company has added some 43 new stores during this financial year, under its Sun & Sand Sports and Supercare Pharmacy brands, along with other individually branded outlets. Its regional portfolio now stands at more than 200 stores.
“Our new stores are located throughout the GCC, with a particular focus being placed on KSA and the UAE,” said Mohammad Baker, vice chairman of Dubai-based GMG. “Despite both countries having traditionally strong retail markets, we believe they are currently underserved in a number of key areas. This year marks the most significant investment in GMG’s history across our house of brands. This investment serves as a vote of confidence in the GCC retail market, as we roll out our most ambitious expansion drive to date.”
Retailers and mall developers in the UAE have launched a series of expansions as renewed confidence in the economy and increasing visitor numbers keeps the retail pot bubbling. The Dubai Mall said it greeted nearly 21 million visitors in the first three months of 2014 and MAF Group, which owns Mall of the Emirates and the City Centre malls, had revenues last year of Dh23 billion, a 10 per cent increase on 2012. According to Business Monitor International, the country’s retail sales are growing to Dh151.3 billion in 2015 from Dh113.8bn in 2011. That would be a jump of nearly a third in only four years.
“Sales have been strong across our entire portfolio in the UAE and our recent expansion drive serves as evidence of this,” Mr Baker said. “Our sports and leisure offering through Sun & Sand Sports and standalone branded stores are particularly strong as the UAE’s leisure market continues to develop. With our favourable weather, sporting seasons are typically longer in the region and often run into one another.”
GMG’s healthcare side is also doing nicely, he said.
“With over 20 pharmacies and 10 nutrition centres across both Dubai and Sharjah, our Supercare healthcare brand benefits from a strong relationship with local residents across both emirates,” he said.
ascott@thenational.ae
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