Leading retail industry entities and experts have pledged their support for the 14th edition of Dubai Shopping Festival 2009 that will run from January 15 to February 15.

Initiated by the DSF office, a meeting of several leading retailers, DSF officials, and representatives of several government departments and the tourism and hospitality sectors was held at the Department of Economic Development on December 24.

The meeting was chaired by Laila Suhail, chief executive officer of DSF Office, and attended by representatives of leading business houses in Dubai.

Mohamed Khamis bin Hareb, DTCM's executive director of operations and marketing was among those who spoke at the meeting in addition to Tawhid Abdulla, managing director of Dubai Gold & Jewellery Group, and Eesa Adam, board member of Dubai Shopping Malls Group.

Several issues such as the scope of the retail industry in the current economic downturn were also discussed at the meeting.

A majority of retailers believed that the coming DSF would enable them to take shopping promotions to the next level.

A special retail report was also presented by Piyush Mathur, regional managing director, Mena and Pakistan, The Nielsen Company, in the gathering of more than a hundred attendees.

Laila Suhail said, "Our calling for this meeting comes in line with the DSF Office’s efforts to align the endeavours of our various stakeholders to come up with some of the most exciting promotions organized in a DSF edition."

"In the wake of the global slowdown, this gathering was essential to come together and plan ways to contribute in enhancing Dubai’s economy. We are confident that the promotions designed by hotels and retailers in Dubai, in addition to the raffle prizes worth millions, will play a paramount role in increasing retail footfall.”

Mohamed Khamis bin Hareb said, “The DTCM will launch an aggressive marketing campaign that will coincide with the beginning of DSF 2009. The ambitious campaign is co-designed with the leading hotels in Dubai and will target different markets.”

Tawhid Abdulla and Eesa Adam, board member of Dubai Shopping Malls Group, stressed the importance of uniting the efforts of all entities involved in ensuring that residents, visitors, and shoppers would make the most of the promotions offered.-TradeArabia News Service