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$34.4 billion the ‘Back to School’ global market This Why ‘Back to School’ is big business for UAE retailers

$34.4 billion the ‘Back to School’ global market This Why ‘Back to School’ is big business for UAE retailers

Dubai, Business News:

With the most recent survey (Deloitte, 2022) stating that the average household spend on ‘Back to School’  (BTS) items is $661 and the global market itself worth a staggering $34.4 billion – up 24% since 2019 – UAE businesses are geared up for one of their busiest trading periods of the year.

UAE based e-commerce site Kibsons has seen year on year growth in this segment and considers their BTS campaign their third biggest of the trading year, behind Black Friday and Ramadan. For Kibsons  – it is not just BTS that fuels the period, but ‘ Back to Campus’ and ‘ Back to Reality’ for students and parents and focuses strategically on stocking and supplying not just the typical stationary items and kit, but ‘making life easier’ with a range of ready meal collections and ‘ DIY’ food boxes and kits to save time and convenience for new students and their parents. Even within the Nursery stage, Kibsons sees increased demand for items such as vitamins tablets, diapers and items to make the pre-school breakfast easier and healthier. Known for their food offerings primarily, Marketing Director, Sarah El-Hajji, says that Kibsons has been expanding its range of products gradually and enjoys loyalty in non-perishable categories from brand advocates who appreciate the fast delivery and competitive pricing, hence returning for their non-food ‘ Back to School’ list.

Family mealtime and lifestyle retailer, Citron,  and CEO Sarah Chemmaa states that ‘Back to School’ is the biggest campaign period of the year for Citron sales wise. “We have seen 500% growth year on year since 2019 and this year we expect to sell 500,000 units – with lunchboxes, water bottles and lunch bags being our best selling product”

Payal Mirchandani, CEO of Pinca Trading says –  Competition is fierce, At least 50% of the yearly business is made during the back to school season for retailers  At Pinca, We focus on trendy/fashion stationery and accessories. We have seen great success in this category and have always focused on this every year.  For the UAEwe usually order a 20 ft container specifically for back to school lines- this can range from 10-14 skus and approximately  3000 – 4000  units. 

For more insight into the business of back to school in the GCC – representatives of Kibsons, Citron and Pinca Trading are available to share further insight into categories, volumes and sales for the various sectors that make up this important sales period for brands, distributors and retailers – please let me know if this is something you would like to explore further via feature, interview or op-ed .

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