New Retailing market report from Business Monitor International: "United Arab Emirates Retail Report Q2 2013"

Boston, MA -- (SBWire) -- 06/14/2013 --The UAE Retail Report examines the long-term potential of the local consumer market, but flags short-term concerns about the impact on the UAE's economic outlook of significant structural weaknesses.

The report examines how best to maximise returns in the UAE retail market while minimising investment risk, and also explores the impact of a slowing export sector amid the broader global downturn on the Dubai consumer in particular and on the ability of producers and exporters to realise returns in the short term.

The report also analyses the growth and risk management strategies being employed by the leading players in the UAE retail sector, as they seek to maximise the growth opportunities offered by the local market.

View Full Report Details and Table of Contents

The UAE comes third (out of seven) in BMI's MEA Retail risk/reward ratings.

Among all retail categories, consumer electronics will be the outperformer through to 2017 in growth terms, with sales forecast to increase by more than 63% between 2013 and 2017, from US$4.06bn to US$6.62bn, aided by one of the largest consumer electronics markets in the Gulf region, accounting for close to 40% of regional spending.

In the competitive arena, BMI sees upside potential in government support for projects such as the Dubai Internet City and other free trade zones.

Over the last quarter, BMI has revised the following forecasts/views:

- BMI is projecting the UAE economy to expand by 3.7% in real terms in 2013, and by 3.8% in 2014, down only slightly from an estimated 3.9% rate of expansion posted in 2012. Despite significant structural weaknesses, the near-term macroeconomic outlook remains promising, particularly in Dubai. That said, there is reason to believe that the surge in consumer and business sentiment seen in recent months has gone too far too fast, and is ignoring the lessons that were supposedly learnt since 2009.
- In 2013, BMI expects Dubai's economy to outperform that of Abu Dhabi. Indeed, while the outlook for the latter is by no means bleak, at this stage it would appear as though the former is set to expand at a slightly more rapid clip, albeit from a lower base. Recently released data on the tourism and hospitality industry is a case in point. According to the Ernst & Young's Middle East Hotel Benchmark Survey, hotel occupancy rates in Dubai averaged 80.2% through the first 10 months of 2012, compared with 75.3% in Abu Dhabi.
- BMI sees an uptick in consumer and business sentiment. The latest Bayt.com/Yougov consumer confidence survey for the UAE is relatively encouraging in this regard, highlighting how perceptions of the domestic economy have been steadily improving in recent months. Rising asset valuations should also help to spur a rise in household consumption over the coming quarters, particularly in Dubai..

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