UAE

Christmas comes early for Dubai supermarket shoppers

Christmas merchandise is coming to shops earlier than ever this year as supermarkets adapt to a trend for expatriates to spend their holiday season in Dubai.

Tim Brooks

October 26, 2008

  • English
  • Arabic

DUBAI // Christmas merchandise is coming to shops earlier than ever this year as supermarkets adapt to a trend for expatriates to spend their holiday season in Dubai rather than take increasingly expensive flights home. Supermarkets are launching Christmas lines early, mirroring the practice in Britain, where retailers start promoting them from the first week of October. Choithrams, the supermarket chain, currently has the only Christmas products on sale - including confectionery, lights and tinsel - although other retailers are looking to follow suit soon. Shoppers in The Greens residential district were not surprised that supermarkets are trying to capitalise on the commercial opportunities that Christmas offers. "This is the first time that I have seen Christmas products on sale so early here, Danny Russel said. "Many more people will be staying over Christmas this year and I expect the supermarkets have forecasted this." A spokesman for Choithrams said he thought customers would appreciate the option of preparing for Christmas in advance to avoid the stress of last-minute shopping. "Christmas is a very busy time for our stores. We want to provide customers with a wide range of products to choose from and offer flexibility on when they can buy them. This is why we have already introduced some Christmas-themed items to our stores," the spokesman said. Spinneys, popular with British expats looking for familiar brands from home, said it would not display Christmas merchandise until next month. Carrefour said it would introduce Christmas goods and decorations on Dec 1. The cost of Christmas flights has increased by about 30 per cent and many Dubai residents plan to stay in the country. Tina Leamon, from England, plans to bring her family to Dubai because it is her Christmas location of choice. "I see this as my home, so I want to enjoy Christmas here. With more people spending Christmas in Dubai year on year, a great spirit builds up in the community. I think it's a fun place to spend Christmas and my parents are looking forward to coming over. You can buy everything you need to create an authentic Christmas, except the weather." tbrooks@thenational.ae

Marathon results

Men:

 1. Titus Ekiru(KEN) 2:06:13 

2. Alphonce Simbu(TAN) 2:07:50 

3. Reuben Kipyego(KEN) 2:08:25 

4. Abel Kirui(KEN) 2:08:46 

5. Felix Kemutai(KEN) 2:10:48  

Women:

1. Judith Korir(KEN) 2:22:30 

2. Eunice Chumba(BHR) 2:26:01 

3. Immaculate Chemutai(UGA) 2:28:30 

4. Abebech Bekele(ETH) 2:29:43 

5. Aleksandra Morozova(RUS) 2:33:01  

HIJRA

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Director: Shahad Ameen

Rating: 3/5

How to get exposure to gold

Although you can buy gold easily on the Dubai markets, the problem with buying physical bars, coins or jewellery is that you then have storage, security and insurance issues.

A far easier option is to invest in a low-cost exchange traded fund (ETF) that invests in the precious metal instead, for example, ETFS Physical Gold (PHAU) and iShares Physical Gold (SGLN) both track physical gold. The VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF invests directly in mining companies.

Alternatively, BlackRock Gold & General seeks to achieve long-term capital growth primarily through an actively managed portfolio of gold mining, commodity and precious-metal related shares. Its largest portfolio holdings include gold miners Newcrest Mining, Barrick Gold Corp, Agnico Eagle Mines and the NewMont Goldcorp.

Brave investors could take on the added risk of buying individual gold mining stocks, many of which have performed wonderfully well lately.

London-listed Centamin is up more than 70 per cent in just three months, although in a sign of its volatility, it is down 5 per cent on two years ago. Trans-Siberian Gold, listed on London's alternative investment market (AIM) for small stocks, has seen its share price almost quadruple from 34p to 124p over the same period, but do not assume this kind of runaway growth can continue for long

However, buying individual equities like these is highly risky, as their share prices can crash just as quickly, which isn't what what you want from a supposedly safe haven.

2019 ASIAN CUP FINAL

Japan v Qatar
Friday, 6pm
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