The 10th Gulf Food, Hotel and Equipment Exhibition will be held at the Dubai World Trade Center from Feb. 20-23. Described as the region’s important industry, professionals from the food and beverage, hotel, technology, catering, food service, supermarket, equipment and restaurant sectors will be among those attending it. The exhibition will feature all the essential ingredients required to make it a truly international industry event, including food and beverage, food processing machinery; hotel, refrigeration and food service equipment; baking and confectionery products and equipment; hotel supplies and service; and hospitality information systems. “Gulfood provides a unique opportunity for both international manufacturers and regional and local buyers from markets such as the Middle East, North Africa, Indian Subcontinent and Pakistan, Russia and CIS Countries,” said Helal Saeed Khalfan Al Marri, director general of the Dubai World Trade Center (DWTC). This year, Gulfood has expanded in all sectors, with more than 2,000 companies from 55 countries and 36 national pavilions. Gulfood organizers have added new features to make the exhibition as accessible and professional as possible. For the first time, trade visitors and buyers can register online at the bilingual website www.gulfood.com.
MEA
Registration of entries for the recently announced Marketing Effectiveness Awards (MEA) in Dubai has officially closed, with the number of category submissions exceeding expected figures. “We’re very enthusiastic about the high level and quality of response we’ve received from the industry throughout the region. This fact reiterates our belief that business houses have been lacking such an outlet to showcase their efforts in effective marketing communications,” Barry Gray, managing director, Gray Business Communications, said. Entries have come from Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, UAE, Oman, Qatar and Yemen. They cover the listed categories, including new brand and product launches, brand revitalization and alliances, integrated communications, PR, customer loyalty, government and semi-government marketing, marketing achievements by large, small and medium companies, as well as young marketer of the year. Entries include a mix of industries, from finance, retail, media and advertising to automotive, travel and tourism, health care and telecommunications from establishments like Al Futtaim Motors, Al-Jazeera Channel, Bank Muscat, Cadillac, Emirates Post, Glaxo Smithkline, Gulf Air, LG, Microsoft, Panadol and Saudi Telecom. Judges include Ron de Pear, Billets International, Anita Mehra Homayoun, Dubai Civil Aviation, Lance de Masi, American University of Dubai, Trevor Stokes, Amex Middle East and Ramzi Raad, TBWA/Raad, all lending their experience and expertise to decide on the winners.
Toshiba
After an unprecedented last-quarter boom for Toshiba, the company has registered a 264 percent growth in the UAE’s booming PC notebook sector. The figure is more than four times the industry growth, which is estimated at 54.6 percent for the UAE notebook sector. In addition, Toshiba is the highest revenue earner in the notebook sector in every one of its Middle East markets. The preliminary figures, released by International Data Corporation (IDC) for the fourth quarter of 2004, give Toshiba 22.4 percent market share, as compared to 9.5 percent market share for the same period in 2003. The UAE figures are the highest increases shown by Toshiba anywhere in the world, with other notable successes in Oman (up 205 percent), Bahrain (up 116 percent) and Saudi Arabia, where the company moved ahead of HP into second place in the notebook market, with 46.3 percent total growth for the year.