TAKING THE LEAP

The world’s first BLACK+DECKER ®️ brand store is now open at Al Ghurair Center, Dubai. This strategic move marks a significant milestone in BLACK+DECKER ®️ ambitious expansion strategy and aligns with its vision to elevate its retail footprint, get closer to consumers, and double its revenue growth.

KNOW THE BRAND
Stanley Black & Decker, an S&P 500 company, headquartered in the USA, Stanley Black & Decker (NYSE:) is the world’s largest tool company operating manufacturing facilities worldwide. Guided by its purpose – for those who make the world – the company’s approximately 60,000 diverse and high-performing employees produce innovative, award-winning power tools, hand tools, storage, digital tool solutions, lifestyle products, outdoor products, engineered fasteners, and other industrial equipment to support the world’s makers, creators, tradespeople, and builders.

FOCUS MIDDLE EAST

This also marks the first home appliance brand to have a brand store in the region. At a time when the shopping experience is becoming increasingly impersonal, this store aims to bring back a human touch and an enjoyable shopping experience. Located in Al Ghurair Center, the store showcases the latest BLACK+DECKER ®️ products and offers an immersive consumer experience.

When asked why the brand chose this region for the launch, Parmesh Venkateswaran, General Manager – Middle East & Africa at Stanley Black & Decker, Inc. mentioned, “There are a few factors for BLACK+DECKER ®️ to choose the region as the first market for the physical store launch. The region has been considered a shopping destination regionally and globally for tourists and residents alike for years with shopping and retail experiences becoming a part of everyday lives. Although consumers in the region are naturally skewed towards online shopping, brick-and-mortar retailers maintain multi-generational popularity and appeal. It was an obvious choice to start the retail expansion in this region starting with UAE. Secondly, the Middle East home appliances market is at an all-time high, making it an obvious choice to begin our retail expansion in the region”.

Further, highlighting that the Middle East is currently witnessing a rise in demand for energy-efficient appliances owing to the rising awareness of environmental issues and the need to reduce energy consumption, Venkateswaran added “Companies like ours and many others are investing in the development of energy-efficient appliances to meet this demand. Home appliances have become an indispensable aspect of modern lifestyle and the penetration of these products especially in the urban households of the Middle East is visible as consumers increasingly prefer easy, convenient, smart, and a sustainable lifestyle. An important reason for the rapid growth of the market in the regions is due to the rise in population and disposable incomes”.

GROWING LANDSCAPE
The UAE Home Appliances Market size is estimated at USD 1.07 billion in 2024 and is expected to reach USD 1.31 billion by 2029, growing at a CAGR of 4.24% during the forecast period (2024-2029). Factors like rising disposable income, improving living standards, and the need for comfort are the key drivers for the growth and rapid innovation in the home appliance market.

Rahul Chandra, Director Consumer, BLACK+DECKER ®️ Middle East when highlighting the growth impetus for the brand, mentioned, “We are delighted to announce the opening of our first exclusive store, a testament to our dedication towards customer satisfaction. With a physical retail space, we’re not just expanding our reach, but also strengthening our connection with our consumers. As we unveil BLACK+DECKER ®️ ‘s first retail brand store in the world, we also look ahead to our ambitious growth plans, which include improving the retail experience and expanding consumer touchpoints in the future. This store embodies our belief in ‘easy by design’ and goes a long way in making the lives of our consumers easy, convenient, and balanced. We are looking at different avenues to delight our consumers, like for example for comprehensive home solutions to new homeowners in the region”.

BLACK+DECKER ®️’s omnichannel growth plan includes a larger digital and physical outreach, enhancing customer support, a robust distribution network, and a wider geographic footprint which brings the brand closer to the consumer’s lives and homes. When talking about the unique synergy between the Middle East and BLACK+DECKER ®️, Venkateswaran elaborated that BLACK+DECKER ®️ has been present in the region for almost 40 years and has witnessed a change in the consumer behaviour in the ever-evolving middle eastern landscape. To attract and retain consumers in this dynamic environment, retailers and CPG manufacturers are required to refocus their strategic priorities and put consumer data at the heart of every business decision.

While the company already enjoys a loyal and growing customer base, he mentioned that they must also ensure that they can retain them. “New patterns of consumer demands are emerging in the Middle East. To align with these shifts and retain consumers, we are focused on a few priority areas like product excellence, service standards, brand consistency, personalization, and customer satisfaction,” he signed off.