'harman house' bullish on UAE AV market boom in 2013

Leading company reports excellent sales performance in headphones, docking stations, and home theatre systems categories during DSF 2013

(prHWY.com) February 4, 2013 - Dubai, United Arab Emirates -- The UAE's AV segment is expected to continue its growth streak this year, according to 'harman house,' the leading retail chain in home, professional and car infotainment in the Middle East. The company's confident outlook complements a recent report, predicting a Compounded Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of six per cent well into 2015. The report forecasts that the next two years will see increased sales revenues of up to USD 1.58 billion across various key segments of the AV market. The projected growth affirms the AV market's presence as one of the important players for the country's consumer electronics market. In line with this, 'harman house' reported excellent sales performance during its recent participation at this year's edition of the Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF) 2013, putting them on track in achieving its target revenue of USD400 million for the Fiscal Year 2012 - 2013. The engaging and highly attractive promotions helped increase sales of headphones, docking stations, and home theatre systems categories.

The report has identified UAE as the largest consumer electronics market in the Gulf region and according to some estimates, accounts for 40 per cent of regional spending. One driver for the predicted AV segment's growth is attributed to constant change in consumer tastes and preferences. An example of this is the growing demand for new and innovative AV devices with consumers always on the lookout for good quality sound that will accompany high definition (HD) quality visual. 'harman house' has expressed confidence that its partner, Samsung, will consolidate its industry leadership as LED TVs and 3D TVs becomes larger while Plasma and LCD TV models will still grow in demand over the next few years. Consequently, industry analysts have also pegged increased growth for smartphones while sales of tablets in the UAE is set to cross one million in 2015, thereby driving in a relative rise in the sale of headphones and docking stations.

"We are very pleased to report that 'harman house' fared excellently during this year's DSF, the increase in AV devices sales affirms the country's position as a leading market for consumer electronics," said Amit Malani, President, Harman Middle East. "We are confident that the AV segment will continue to thrive in 2013 and maintain a continuous growth streak towards 2015. Rest assured, 'harman house' will remain true to its commitment of providing customers with the best-in-class headphones, docking stations, AV receivers, home theatre set-ups and sound systems."

During their participation at DSF 2013, 'harman house' threw the spotlight on the world's first docking station from JBL for the latest Apple devices bearing the Lightning port connector; the first ever range of harman/kardon headphones; Samsung flat-screen TVs; and home theater systems. To help attract customers, the company ran value back offers, exciting bundle packages, value-added privileges like interest-free payment plans on credit cards.

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