Following the official opening of their second Abu Dhabi store in the recently completed Mushrif Mall, Abu Dhabi Week sits down with Mr Yasser Sharaf, managing director of Sharaf DG, to find out how the company operates, what makes them stand out and their plans for future expansion

Sharaf DG has a huge presence in Dubai but what took you so long to come to Abu Dhabi?

We had always planned to come to Abu Dhabi but the problem was finding the right real estate and this is what delayed us – nothing else. We started six years ago with one shop in Dubai at Ibn Batuta Mall and we had a growth plan to consolidate in Dubai first, to make sure that operations-wise we were strong before going out. We have been ready to come here for a good three years but it has been problematic finding a suitable location – as soon as we found out about the space in Abu Dhabi Mall we jumped at the chance to open our first store in the capital.

How many stores do you now have in total?

Well, I say we have 20 stores in total but some people say it is 18. The reason for my figure is that we have three duty-free stores at Abu Dhabi Airport, one in each terminal, however most people just count this as one. We have stores in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah and Bahrain, and we are also planning further expansion into Al Ain and Fujairah.

In April you opened your first Abu Dhabi store at the Abu Dhabi Mall. Why did you choose this location and how successful has it been?

For us, this was the first location that was a suitable size and in the right area. If you look at malls in Abu Dhabi compared to Dubai, they are still a little way behind – although there are new malls opening up all the time. We initially wanted Marina Mall but this wasn’t possible so when the space opened up in Abu Dhabi Mall, we didn’t hesitate and we’re glad we didn’t because we are very happy with the store’s performance. We had a tremendous response at the official opening and it has remained really busy since then – the true indicator of how successful it has been is the speed with which we opened our second store.

Your second Abu Dhabi store in Mushrif Mall has been open for a few days now. What has the response been like?

We were amazed with the turnout at Mushrif because we decided to go for a really soft opening. We didn’t announce it, we didn’t tell anyone, we didn’t have any special opening offers like for the first opening but still there were crowds and crowds of people waiting outside – this was a great result for us with very little marketing and promotional activity. The Mushrif Mall store is a very important one for us and we see it as the perfect platform for us to pledge our commitment to further expansion in the country.

There are already a number of electronics shops in Abu Dhabi. What makes Sharaf DG stand out?

We are a one-stop shop, you know. We are dedicated to providing the most extensive range of products for the best value with excellent customer service. We have built up our name over the years in Dubai and we now have a reputation for the best special offers and promotions. We provide a huge amount of variety and take great pride in our staff training and levels of customer satisfaction. I think this is what differentiates us from anything else in Abu Dhabi – of course, you have the hypermarkets and Plug-Ins in Marina Mall but that’s pretty much it.

What do you think makes the consumer come back to you?

First of all, I think customer service is key, both pre and after-sales – this is what drives repeat business. Then comes the price and price protection, the sheer variety of products on offer and, of course, our renowned special promotions. We also think it is very important that our staff provide unbiased and informative advice to everyone who visits us.

Given that the regional economy is still recovering, is this really a good time to expand?

It’s always a good time to expand. We believe that even in times of recession it is good to expand in a moderate way because this will increase your footfall and consequently you can gain from that. We definitely think that we came to Abu Dhabi at the right time and our performance since then certainly bears this out. Give or take a couple of months, we always seem to have been fortunate in choosing the right times to open new stores and we will continue to expand – the next couple of years are going to be very busy.

Jon Muller