Dubai, UAE: The corporate gifts and promotional items industry is a serious business, but a UAE company that designs its own products and ships throughout the Middle East is looking to bring ‘smart’, ‘sustainable’, and ‘happiness’ to the corporate gifting world.
Alpha Art Gifts’ 2017/18 gifts catalogue comprises more than 250 items, from office accessories and writing instruments, to electronics and children’s toys. What sets it apart though according to Managing Director Mohamed Alayat, is that it’s the only Middle East Company with an in-house design team that creates, manufactures, and keeps in-stock its own corporate products, ready to ship anytime, anywhere.
“Around 20 percent of our catalogue are our own designs, but all items have our own signature,” said Alayat. “We’re also the first gifts and promotions company to have an e-commerce mobile app. We launched our Event app last year so customers can select any item, check its availability, upload their logo, pay, and confirm the exact costs right through to final delivery, not only in the Middle East, but world-wide.”
Alayat said Alpha Art Gifts’ sales revenue has increased 20 percent annually since it started operations seven years ago, growing from a one-man show to more than 20 employees currently, adding: “A lot of our products are related to sustainability and we also try to deliver happiness. Dubai’s vision is to be sustainable, happy, and smart. That’s our vision also and our gifts and promotions reflect that.”
Now Alpha Art Gifts is opening up new channels as the official partner for the new Corporate Gifts section at Paperworld Middle East 2018, the region’s dedicated trade fair for paper, office supplies, and stationery.
The three-day event takes place from 27 February – 1 March 2018 at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre, with Alpha Art Gifts headlining a star act of more than a dozen companies specialising in the A to Z of promotional items, from leather luxury goods and travel products, to electronics, confectionery and fashion accessories.
Alayat added the regional corporate gift market has served Alpha Art Gifts well: “The Middle East is such an amazing market that, while challenging and competitive, is also hugely rewarding. Our focus right now is to be the leading distributor in the field of corporate promotional gifts although we also have end-users from the Government sector and big private corporations.
On Paperworld Middle East’s new Corporate Gifts section, Alayat added: “I’m excited to be involved in 2018 as the official Corporate Gifts Partner. I want to do something special at the show that presents us as one of the region’s leading gift and promotion companies, reaching out to new potential clients in stationery and office supplies, but also existing clients in promotions and advertising.”
Now in its 8th edition, Paperworld Middle East 2018 will feature more than 300 exhibitors from 42 countries. The three-day event’s organiser Messe Frankfurt Middle East, decided to introduce the new Corporate Gifts section in response to a growing appetite for gift articles and corporate promotions across the region. Other exhibitors in the dedicated section include Gallop Enterprises, GPW Advertising, High Seven and Al Hasanat.
“We’ve introduced the dedicated Corporate Gifts section due to the increased need for a representative trade platform where professionals and organisations dealing in all kinds of gift articles and promotional products are able to connect and collaborate with their peers from across the world,” said Ahmed Pauwels, CEO of Messe Frankfurt Middle East.
“Paperworld Middle East’s Corporate Gifts section enables exhibitors, buyers and traders to compare and contrast products of competitors as well as present their product portfolio to a relevant international audience over three days.”
Evergrow International is another leading supplier of exclusive gifts and promotional items in the Middle East, and an exhibitor at the co-located Leatherworld Middle East exhibition.
The UAE Company has a large repertoire of corporate gift items, from sunshades, pens, key chains, power banks and USBs, to leather items such as wallets, portfolios, organisers, and passport holders.
Harish Khiara, the Managing Director of Evergrow International said tourism, retail and digitisation are all key areas that will shape the future of corporate gifts and promotional items.
“We’ve been in the market for 24 years in the UAE, and we expect that in the coming years, Africa, which is a major market for Dubai, will grow further,” said Khiara. “The hospitality sector is also very good for promotional gifts because tourism is growing and hence tourism-related items are in high demand.
“Over the last five years, due to tourism, retail has become stronger, which is relatively new channel for us. About 40 percent of our business now is retail, the rest being wholesale. E-commerce is also very important for our business, and I think online sales will increase for us in the future, so it’s an area that we would like to concentrate on further.”
Other new features at Paperworld Middle East 2018 include The Green Room, a dedicated section for environmentally friendly products with ‘eco-credentials; and a series of one-day seminars highlighting the latest industry trends and developments.
Returning features include the Playworld Pavilion, presenting the world of kids’ toys, games, and children’s lifestyle products; and Wrap Star - the region's only gift wrapping competition.
Paperworld Middle East is co-located with Leatherworld Middle East, the region’s premier showcase of leather goods, accessories and supplies. More information is available at: www.paperworldme.com