du steps up brand experience with 9500 sqft concept store opening in Abu Dhabi

HH Sheikh Haza bin Zayed Al Nahyan, National Security Adviser, honoured the opening ceremony of du’s first flagship concept store in Abu Dhabi, in the presence of Ahmad Bin Bayat, Chairman of du, members of the du board and Osman Sultan, CEO of du, along with Mohamed Nasser Al Ghanim, TRA Director General accompanied by members of du executive management team. The store was launched yesterday at a grand opening ceremony held at Hamdan Street in Abu Dhabi.

The new 9500 sqft retail flagship store demonstrates du’s commitment to further enhance its brand experience and is located in the heart of Abu Dhabi.

“We are honoured to have HH Sheikh Haza bin Zayed Al Nahyan, National Security Adviser, here today. This milestone demonstrates our commitment to enhancing our retail footprint and engaging with more customers, more comprehensively, throughout the UAE, and we are proud to announce the opening of our flagship store in Abu Dhabi. Further, this store is also a testament to our position as the most innovative telco in the region, as we have officially inaugurated our largest outlet in the UAE,” commented Osman Sultan, CEO, du.

This flagship store enables du to showcase its full range of mobile and fixed products and services to prospects and customers in Abu Dhabi, with dedicated zones where they can experience products and services like du TV, Video on Demand and Mobile TV.

“With a large retail presence in the heart of our capital we are able to enhance our brand experience for all our prospects and customers in Abu Dhabi. Our aim is to provide a unique experience in a vibrant and friendly brand environment where people can try out and experience a wide range of services and products,” commented Farid Faraidooni, Chief Commercial Officer, du.

The store has several zones to cater to a range of business and individual needs and allow visitors to enjoy interacting with products and services, and a dedicated business area to attend to all business customers and prospects and their specific needs.

There are also 21 customer interaction points staffed with specialised agents to assist customers with their purchases, enquiries and other needs.

The “feel at home area” enables customers to experience live demonstrations of the IPTV services that du will make available in Abu Dhabi in the near future, and customers can also surf the net using broadband service. In addition, the “be everywhere area” will demonstrate du’s unique mobile propositions like Elite 100 and Pay as you Go® via live handsets. Finally, the “business area” offers business customers the opportunity to meet du’s business agents and test out the speed of the recently-launched business mobile broadband offer.

Beyond sales and service, du is committed to delivering a unique brand experience in its new flagship store. The design strategy behind the new retail concept is “a fascinating world”, delivering a unique brand experience in a flagship retail environment. Through the rest of the year, du will continue to add more experience elements in-store, a first for the region. du will bring social media in-store with interaction points allowing people to express their opinions, and mention things they think are interesting and cool. Towards the end of the year customers can look forward to a fuller experience in the versatile in-store venue designed for everything from new product launches to workshops to acoustic music events or even poetry readings. In all these ways, du continues to deliver on its promise to ‘add life to life.’

The store is open to the public from 9am to 10pm, and visitors can enjoy a unique brand experience while being served or waiting to be served.

About du

du, the integrated telecom service provider in the UAE, launched mobile telecommunication services in February 2007 across the UAE, in addition to internet and pay TV services that du provides in some of the free zones of Dubai. Call Select, du’s nationwide fixed line services for voice telephony, was launched in July 2007. By the end of 2008, over 3 million people in the UAE chose to become du customers.

Among du’s many firsts is its historic Number Booking Campaign for both individuals and business, Pay by the Second billing system, Mobile TV, Mobile Payments, first of its kind ‘WoW’ recharge card (which offers customers the choice between more credit, more time and now ‘more international’ recharge option with additional credit on international calls) and Self Care.

For business customers, du business offers include Closed Business User Group and preferred International Destinations. du Broadcast Services division brings scalable media technology platforms and telecommunication solutions to the broadcast community through its world class teleport (Samacom) and Master Control Room (MCR) facilities.

du products and services for consumers and business are available through du’s retail network, currently numbering 33 du shops located in strategic locations across the UAE, more than 3000 authorized dealers Or through du e-shop, accessible at http://www.du.ae/en/where-to-buy/eshop.html. du shops are a one stop shop for mobile service, carrier select and the payment of the service bills.

du is 39.5 percent owned by the UAE Federal Government, 19.75 percent by Mubadala Development Company, 19.5 percent by Emirates Communications & Technology Company LLC and the remaining stake by public shareholders. It is listed on the Dubai Financial Market (DFM) and trades under the name du.

Awards to date

• du presented with an award for Best Middle Eastern Local Currency Deal 2008 by UK’s EuroWeek
• du won two prestigious awards at UAE Web Awards 2008. du e-shop portal won the best strategic online portal award in the e-commerce category and du media club website won the bronze award in the media and press category.
• du corporate brand launch campaign awarded a Cristal MENA award in 2008
• du declared ‘Best Brand’ at Telecoms World Awards Middle East 2007 for innovative branding and outstanding brand success
• Second place in the New Brand Launch category at the GMR Effectiveness in Marketing Awards 2007
• Silver Award for the best website in the ICT category at the UAE Web Awards 2007
• du WoW TV Commercial awarded amongst the best 50 TV commercials in mobile telecom category in the world for 2007

For further information, please contact:

Saugat Chatterjee
Public Relations Manager, Channels Communications
Brand & Communications
du
Mobile: +971 55 9367045
Email: saugat.chatterjee@du.ae

Gregory Henderson
Manning, Selvage & Lee
Tel: +971 4 3676 275
Mobile: +971 55 495 6484
Fax: +971 4 367 2615
Email: gregory.henderson@dubai.mslpr.com