JEDDAH, 23 May 2004 — The annual lifestyle exposition opens at the Jeddah International Exhibition Center today showcasing the latest products and trends available across the world.
Dr. Osama ibn Hamza Abu Gharrarah, deputy minister for internal trade, will inaugurate the 22nd multisectoral trade expo for light industries, consumer goods, clothing, leather goods, fashion accessories, textiles and giftware, at 5 p.m.
The fair, which will run for five days, has become the entry point for many new products to the Kingdom’s market. The exposition is known for exhibitors introducing their new products and services to this part of the world. “In fact, many items now readily available in the Kingdom were first launched here,” a spokesman for the organizers, Al-Harithy Company for Exhibitions (ACE), said yesterday.
Motivated by the globalization process, entrepreneurs are now exploring new markets to sell their products. Home to more than 22 million people with imports exceeding $30 billion, the Kingdom is regarded as the largest and most important market in the Gulf. That is why world exporters vie with each other to market their products and services in this highly competitive market.
Many international suppliers have gathered under one roof to acquaint local traders of the quality of their products and also study the market trends in order to widen their product range. Some of them are also looking for new partners, agents or distributors.
Nineteen countries with scores of exhibitors are here eyeing a bigger share of the market. Alongside national participants, exhibitors have come from Djibouti, Egypt, Ethiopia, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Iran, Jordan, Lebanon, Malaysia, Morocco, Pakistan, Sudan, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, the UAE and Yemen.
Since the launch of the exhibition in 1982, the event has achieved an “enviable position” in the Saudi commercial calendar, attracting traders, wholesalers, agents and distributors from across the Kingdom and elsewhere in the Gulf and the Middle East, looking for new sources of product lines.
With ongoing reforms, there has been a noticeable rise in visitors, especially those involved in manufacturing, investment and joint ventures.
Since the 1970s, the Kingdom has consistently been the region’s major market for foreign goods and services. With its population rising to an estimated 47 million by 2020, the market potential is vast for products and services offered by international companies.
The Kingdom’s predominantly cosmopolitan population is reported to have a higher than average disposable income and there is a continual demand for new and innovative goods.
This is very much evident in shopping malls and supermarkets across the Kingdom, where imported products being displayed demonstrate the latest trends in products and fashions.
The Kingdom’s encouragement of overseas investment and increased privatization in all aspects of production and manufacturing is seen as a further boost to its growing industry, said the spokesman for ACE, which is credited with creating business partnerships through exhibitions over the last 25 years.
ACE has staged more than 300 exhibitions in the city across a wide range of industry sectors.
“The company’s excellent track record and wealth of expertise are an assurance that products and services are promoted with the highest degree of professionalism,” he added.
The exhibition profile includes manufacturing machinery for light industry sectors, appliances and consumer electronics, furniture and furnishings, kitchen and kitchenware, plastic products and machinery, office environments and information technology, sanitary and ceramics, floor and wall coverings, corporate incentive merchandise, decorative lighting and other electric products, safety and fire equipment, climate and environmental control equipment, consumer goods, clothing for adults and children, footwear and leather goods, hardware and tools, textiles and machinery, leisure and sports goods, antiques, handicrafts and decorative artifacts, gifts and giftware, glassware and silverware, costume jewelry and fashion accessories, cosmetics and perfumes, toys and games, watches and clocks, and musical instruments and sound system.
The expo is open for businessmen, traders and decision-makers daily from 5.30 p.m. to 10.30 p.m.