Visit of IBA RETAILING CLASS to Dubai

Dubai is a retail dream, shared by shop keepers and shopaholics alike. We set out on this journey; eager to share this dream and hopefully, translate it back to reality in Pakistan and it has been the journey of a lifetime! We have learnt more in these 5 days than in all the years of study at IBA put together. In fact, this trip showed us practical applications of the concepts that we learnt in courses like International Marketing, Strategic Marketing, Brand Management, Advertising and of course, Retailing. It was every exciting to prowl around Dubai’s malls and observe the happenings from both perspectives – that of the customer and the marketer and strengthen the comprehension and skills of the latter perspective. Here is a brief account of each exciting day of this wonderful study trip: Day 1: After an exhausting but exciting flight in Fly Dubai, we landed at 7 am in Desert Rose Hotel apartments. By 11 am, we were at the metro station, keenly observing the funky blue décor, all set to go to Dubai mall. Mr Jami Moiz and Miss Farah Naz suggested that we divide ourselves into groups to minimize the chances of getting lost in the complex but well laid-out mall and facilitate shopping. Many hours were spent evaluating brands of all categories and making purchases. The food court had a wide variety of delicious offerings which proved to be refreshing after the intense walking required around the huge mall. The return trip was at night back to the hotel. We went in groups walking to our respective destinations for dinner. At around 11, an interesting alumni guest speaker session with Mr Danish Kazi, President IBA Alumni Dubai Chapter and Mr Adil Mushtaque, VP, provided us new insights about Dubai. Day 2: Sound sleep and good breakfast at the hotel energized us for the walk to the metro station and trip to Ibn-e-Batuta. The assortment of the mall was not dissimilar to Dubai mall, providing the same luxury products but the mall was set apart due to its unique ambience. Decorated in old Arab style with statutes of ancient warriors, this mall had a beautiful blue ceiling with fluffy white clouds, replicating a calm cerulean sky. Also distinct was the layout of the food court, boasting a separate “India Court” and so on, providing delicacies pertaining to each type of cuisine. After this we set out to the old part of Dubai by boat, observing the rambling streets of Deira. The assortment here was unique, shimmering fabrics with heavy embroidery, bling bling sandals, religious mementos, charming Dubai souvenirs, chai and pakoras, all available hotch potch at low prices with bargaining. We set off for City Center after the exhilarating boat trip and taxi ride. The layout of City Center was slightly different from other malls. There was more scope for various brands and after a pleasant shopping trip, we had dinner with Mr Jami Moiz at “Multifood” accompanied with interesting talk about our overall experiences. Day 3: The day set off with a bang with the booking of a bus by our esteemed teachers for 10 hours of fun the entire day. The day started off with a visit to the Festival City where we got to observe such wonders of retailing as the Gold souk, IKEA and Marks and Spencer. The city itself was huge with a beautiful glass ceiling that allowed sunlight to pleasantly filter through. After shopping till we could drop, we cooled off at the Jumeirah beach park, savoring the golden sands and the cool breeze. The evening was beautiful with us reclining on the pier while the waves made music at our feet. The glory continued with a trip to Atlantis. We were awestruck by the phenomenal décor and touches of splendor such as the aquarium. Even better was the yummy chocolate ice cream from Cold stone that Sir Jami shared with us! Day 4: After a scrumptious breakfast, we set off in a bus to Lulu hypermarket exploring the various assortments and purchasing at low prices. This was followed by a visit to the Mall of Emirates which was actually similar to the other malls that we had previously visited. The evening was a life changing experience. Mr Irfan Mustafa made a motivational interactive presentation that aroused the patriotic Pakistani in all of us and made us look at our beloved country with a half-full rather than a half-empty glass perspective. Enthused with this optimism, we tucked into the delicious Pizzas provided by IBA’s alumni chapter and Yum brands. This feast was followed by presentations on our learning from the trip which was evaluated by the President of the IBA alumni chapter. Day 5: The day started off with a trip to Bloomberg where we learned about the Bloomberg software, corporate culture and their perspective on Pakistan. At the end of this session, they conducted a quiz whereby the winners were awarded gifts. We were also given a company tour and full access to the pantry where we feasted with relish. Thus came to an end a most interesting and educational field trip. The key take away that we shared in our presentations also were to do with creating a more pleasant ambience in our shopping malls, have a more open and welcoming environment as well as focus on the assortment in the store lay out.