Fair duo in Dubai

Whereas Hardware & Tools opened its doors for what was already the sixth time, the Garden, Landscaping & Outdoor Living fair held concurrently was the third event of its kind. The range of products offered by around 360 exhibitors in the World Trade Center was geared to wholesalers and retailers, architects, building contractors, horticulturists and landscape gardeners, etc. Both events were held under the one roof in Halls 1 and 2, and were complemented by two further trade fairs, Lightstyle Gulf and ISH Gulf, staged directly adjacent to them. Over 14 000 visitors were registered overall, not only from the Gulf states or the UAE but from Africa, Europe, the USA, the area round the Black Sea, and other regions as well.
This year's event, the biggest hardware and tools trade fair in the region, recorded a considerable increase in exhibitor numbers by comparison with the previous year. There was a high level of participation by exhibitors from European and Asian countries, including national pavilions from Germany, Italy, Spain and China.
Around 360 companies exhibited at the two fairs, some of them from Europe.
Since the United Arab Emirates are not really DIY territory, and the DIY retail landscape there is more or less limited to four Ace Hardware stores, the range of products offered by the exhibitors was geared more to professional users. The event did justice to its name by showing predominantly hardware, tools and power tools, and products from the locks and fittings segment.
This year's Garden, Landscaping & Outdoor Living fair experience even greater expansion: the participation at this third event was 75 per cent up.
Here, immediately adjoining Hardware & Tools, the whole emphasis was on the visual design and improvement of gardens. Whether decorative products – from simple terracotta bowls to exclusive items of sculpture, garden furniture or small swimming pools – the range displayed was broad and varied. Though visitors interested in garden equipment or technology were in for a disappointment, since there was scarcely any coverage of this segment at all by the exhibitors. There is certainly room for expansion here.