Gitex faces competition

gulf news
Dubai: Gitex's glory days as the only tech show in town may be over.

While the tech fair has been the Middle East's dominate showcase of up-and-coming products in IT and consumer electronics, the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), which hosts the largest consumer electronics show in the world every January in Las Vegas, just finished sponsoring Hometech Middle East 2007 at the Dubai World Trade Centre.

"I hope that we can create as dynamic a trade show here as we have in Las Vegas. That would be the goal," said Kathy Gornik, co-founder and president of Thiel Audio and a board member of the CEA. "I would like to see the two shows compete with each other for size, scope and attendance."

Gary Shapiro, President and CEO of CEA, said he'd like the show in Dubai to approach the size of the Las Vegas show in 10 to 15 years, adding the organisation's interest in Dubai was a "long-term investment."

Gitex, which will run this year from September 8 through 12 at the Dubai International Exhibition and Convention Centre, is one of the top IT exhibitions in the world. Gitex also usually hosts a large number of consumer electronics vendors.

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Helal Saeed Al Merri, director general of the Dubai World Trade Centre, which manages Gitex, said in a statement that the organisation "welcomed CEA's announcement that it plans to expand its presence, because it reinforces Dubai's increasing importance within the international technology industry."

The DWTC did not respond to questions about a possible impact of a CES-sponsored event on Gitex.

Bradley Bennett, divisional manager for Plug-Ins Electronics said he did not think the two tech fairs would compete with each other since they are scheduled four months apart.

Bennett said his company was happy to see the CEA hosting Hometech, as Plug-Ins focused equally on both IT and consumer electronics. "The influence will maintain the visibility if consumer electronics in the consumer's minds," he said.

Sandeep Attri, a deputy marketing manager at Jumbo, said it would only be interested in Hometech if it became more consumer-oriented.

Bennett agreed saying Hometech would have a hard time developing as a consumer electronics show unless changes where made in its format. Currently, Hometech is billed as a tradeshow and does not allow consumers.

Gitex also does not focus on retail sales, but hosts the Gitex Shopper. According to the organisation, the 2006 Shopper attracted a total of 132,327 visitors in a period of seven days and reported sales of over $23 million.