Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 28 January 2020: Dubai has come alive, as the whole city embraces the silver anniversary of the much beloved Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF), with thousands of visitors and residents enjoying the range of entertainment, markets, shopping promotions, raffle prizes and fireworks galore every evening.  Organiser Dubai Festivals and Retail Establishment (DFRE) has highlighted the positive comments, long-standing and strong collaboration from its strategic partners and key sponsors who have contributed to the success of this milestone event which is playing a significant role in driving forward Dubai’s retail sector. 

The 25th edition of DSF is part of Dubai’s annual Retail Calendar that features major retail festivals, new season launches, mega promotions and exclusive retail experiences and attractions to drive forward Dubai’s retail sector, a main contributor towards the emirate’s economy. DSF is supported by strategic partners including Emirates Airline, Emaar Malls, Majid Al Futtaim Properties, Meraas, Nakheel, Mercato, Al Futtaim, AW Rostamani Group, Dubai Duty-Free, ENOC and Etisalat with key partners including RAK Bank and Jumbo Electronics.  

Ahmed Al Khaja, CEO of Dubai Festivals and Retail Establishment (DFRE) said: “Dubai Shopping Festival has become firmly established as one of the most highly anticipated events in the region, one that keeps the emirate attractive for visitors and residents alike and reinforces Dubai as a global retail destination. This year’s event has already featured a series of concerts by Emirati and international singers, cultural and family-oriented performances, stand-up comedy shows and street carnivals, shopping promotions of up to 90 percent across more than 3,500 retail outlets and the chance to win life-changing prizes. During our Grand Opening Celebrations, the city came alive with spectacular fireworks shows to celebrate the silver anniversary of DSF.”

Al Khaja continued: “This milestone event would not be possible without the continued collaboration and support by our government and private sector partners who have contributed to this event with passion and zeal. The contribution of our strategic partners throughout the city has enriched the event and made it attractive to people from all walks of life, and from all corners of the world with a variety of offers, brand activations, mall events and so much more. As we look ahead, we remain fully committed to further strengthening Dubai’s position as a global retail destination.” 

Al-Futtaim Malls
Steven Cleaver, Director, Shopping Centers Dubai, said: “We are always thrilled to be part of DSF and offer our visitors great deals and bargains throughout this shopping extravaganza. Year on year, we’ve been witnessing an increase in the number of visitors during this period, which is a positive sign for the retail sector. We’ve also paired up amazing deals with an array of phenomenal activities and entertainment. Shoppers can enjoy watching Britain’s Got Talent performers, Living Statues or have their little ones play at the largest LEGO Festival in the Middle East with seven unique zones on offer and an all-new LEGO NINJAGO IMAGINE Show. Since its launch last week, the LEGO themed show has attracted more than 50,000 visitors at Festival Bay.

Arabian Automobiles of AW Rostamani Group
Michel Ayat, CEO of Arabian Automobiles said: “We are proud to continue our relationship with Dubai Shopping Festival and align with its mission of providing exceptional services and offers to all Dubai citizens, residents, and visitors. We would also like to express our happiness for the results we have achieved thus far during the festival in its 25th edition and also anticipate the second half of the festival to be even more successful, thanks to the generous and comprehensive deals offered to customers by Arabian Automobiles Company. We will continue to support this event and strengthen the successful strategic partnership that has spanned for a quarter of a century, in support of the vision of the wise leadership, to make the Emirate the best tourism and shopping destination in the world.” 
 

Dubai Duty Free
Colm McLoughlin, Executive Vice Chairman & CEO said: ‘Dubai Duty Free’s continued support to DFRE demonstrated its commitment to playing a significant part in the development of the tourism and retail sectors of Dubai at the start of the year. In turn, DDF also benefits from its many initiatives like DSF as evident by the large number of visitors who shop at Dubai Duty Free in Dubai International and Al Maktoum International Airport during the event period.” 

Salah Tahlak, Executive Vice President – Corporate Services added: “Dubai Duty Free has a number of initiatives in place to maximize the potentials and opportunities brought about by the impact of the consumers during the Dubai Shopping Festival period. The initiatives are customer friendly and focus on the essentials of understanding the needs and requirements of this popular and longest-running festival of its kind.” 

ENOC
His Excellency Saif Humaid Al Falasi, Group CEO said: “The Dubai Shopping Festival plays a significant role in positioning Dubai as one of the world’s top retail and tourism destination. Attracting millions of visitors from all around the world, we are proud to be contributors to making the DSF yet another successful event that offers its visitors world class entertainment.”

Meraas
Sally Yacoub, Chief Malls Officer said: “The city has truly come to life at our family-friendly destinations through the array of celebrations we’ve laid out for the 25th Dubai Shopping Festival. This year, along with the unique attractions and experiences available for visitors at Al Seef, Boxpark, Bluewaters, City Walk, Kite Beach, La Mer, Last Exit, The Beach, and The Outlet Village, visitors have enjoyed meeting the Trolls, flyboard shows, vibrant fashion shows and inspirational art installations. Customers are also excited about our spend-and-win campaign running throughout the festival month, with prizes worth AED1 million in Meraas Gift Cards.”

Mercato
Nisreen Boustani, PR and Corporate Communication Manager, said: “DSF provides retailers with their biggest footfall of the year and most profitable annual sales period; we have noticed an increase of 30 per cent in the mall’s footfall and sales figures during the first half of DSF 2020 compared to the same period last year during DSF 2019.” 

Nakheel Malls
Omar Khoory, Managing Director, Nakheel Malls, said: “We have received a superb response to our participation in this milestone 25th edition of Dubai Shopping Festival.  As we pass the halfway mark of this ever-popular festival, we are pleased to report an increase in visitors – residents and tourists – at our diverse range of destinations.  Our newly-opened Nakheel Mall has had an excellent DSF debut, with The Pointe, Ibn Battuta Mall and Dragon Mart also pivotal to the Dubai shopping experience this DSF.  We look forward to drawing more crowds to our unrivalled selection of promotions and entertainment for the remainder of DSF – and beyond.”

National Food Products Company (NFPC)
Iqbal Hamzah, Group CEO of NFPC commented: “We were delighted to be supporting this year’s Dubai Shopping Festival as the official Beverage Partner.   We considered it a fantastic opportunity to showcase our house-hold name beverage brands, including Lacnor and Oasis, to a very broad spectrum of individuals and nationalities.  On the occasion of the 25th anniversary, it was particularly significant, because the Dubai Shopping Festival has become part of the fabric of the UAE, as have our brands, which we have been supplying to the population for almost five decades.   Aligning ourselves with such a positive and vibrant  Dubai event which continues to be so well received by locals and tourists alike has been a highly rewarding experience for NFPC”   

RAK BANK
Frederic de Melker, Managing Director of Personal Banking, commented: “I’m thrilled that RAKBANK is playing an integral role in the Dubai Shopping Festival’s (DSF) 25th edition in 2020. We only reached the mid-season of DSF and have witnessed an exceptional response to the unique 25% cashback created specifically for RAKBANK Mastercard credit cardholders. The 25% cashback offer is over and above the prevailing retailer discounts, thereby providing an unimaginable value back on purchases throughout DSF. Thousands of RAKBANK customers have already enrolled in the promotion, taking full advantage of the renowned shopping festival to the fullest. This will most definitely increase footfall at malls across the Emirate over the remaining half of the shopping festival as well.”

For more information, please visit www.mydsf.ae or @DSFSocial, #MyDSF and #DSFturns25 for the latest news, information and events.