Reed Exhibitions Middle East has joined hands with Popai Arabia to host the region’s premier marketing at-retail, shop fitting and store operations event next month - ArabiaShop - in Dubai.

Popai Arabia, a non-profit organisation dedicated to promotion of the marketing-at-retail industry in the region, said ArabiaShop will run from May 8 to 10, 2012 at Dubai World Trade Centre.

A premier retail industry-focused event, ArabiaShop will facilitate retailers’ access to the latest marketing at-retail, shop fitting, store design, retail operational solutions and provide vendors with a door to the huge retailing market in the Mena and the India region.

It will also create a valuable networking arena for the region’s top buyers and vendors, said Popai Arabia, which has an unrivalled 75 year history of promoting shopper marketing excellence in retail across the globe.

ArabiaShop comprises several complementary elements including:
•An exhibition of the latest innovative products and solutions for marketing at-retail, shop fitting and store operations
•Hosted buyer and VIP programs
•Networking reception
•Keynote addresses from industry leaders
•Seminars and workshops
•Outstanding Marketing Achievement (OMA) Awards organized and presented by POPAI Arabia

With a specific focus on marketing at-retail and shop fitting / shop operations and design, ArabiaShop is the essential forum for business for the retail sector, said a sttaement from Reed Exhiobition.

ArabiaShop will focus on the promotion of new products and services, the sharing of industry best practice and the exchange of knowledge and ideas, it added.

The retail market to be serviced by ArabiaShop which includes GCC, North Africa and India, is estimated to be worth $1.25 trillion by 2015, said a top official, citing data.

The Mena region has recently experienced huge growth in both gross domestic product (GDP) and gross lease area (GLA), highlighting the need for ArabiaShop.

The International Monetary Fund forecasts that real GDP growth is set to grow to 4.3 per cent by 2013, while retail sales growth is expected to increase by 5.17 per cent by the end of 2011, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit.

“We expect ArabiaShop to be hugely successful; it will bring never-before-seen opportunities to big and small players within the region’s retail industry,” said Frederic Theux, President of Reed Exhibitions Middle East. “Retail expansion is booming in this region, and this highlights the need to put people together like this.”

Katia Shirikian, managing director of Popai Arabia, endorsed the organization’s partnership with Reed Exhibitions, and outlined the benefits of attendance at the ArabiaShop event.

“As the marketing at-retail sector’s largest and most vibrant global community, we are proud to partner with Reed Exhibitions for ArabiaShop, which promises to be a great success and become a must attend Shopper Marketing event in the region,” she said.-TradeArabia News Service