It was a unique DEAL show in Dubai last week for Warehouse of Games, the UAE-based distributor.

The show, which ran from Tuesday to Thursday of last week, was held at the World Trade Centre in the city and WoG had one of the largest displays.

It was “unique” because the company was celebrating its 15th anniversary year and marked the occasion with a party at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, close to the show, on the middle evening, with a strong turnout from all of the major operators who were in town and representatives of the leading suppliers who had flown in for the event.

A big birthday cake was cut, souvenir awards handed out to WoG’s “special friends,” the obligatory belly dancer entertained the guests and a Lebanese banquet was laid on.

Said CEO Nabil Kassim: “The show was also unique for us in terms of the products we showed and the strength and bright image we delivered about the company.”

Of the show, Yuhanis Nawasreh, WoG’s sales and development manager, said: “It was rather slow in terms of the flow of people, but our stand was busy and we hardly had time to cope with all the visitors. We had some tight meeting schedules but a lot of interest in our products.”

He was sharply critical of the venue. The show was switched this year to halls 4, 5 and 6, away from the usual halls 1, 2 and 3, which meant a long walk in the sun for most of the visitors and exhibitors. “The choice of hall was a big mistake and directly affected the flow of people and certainly impacted the visitor numbers,” said Kassim. “But we got the serious clients.” He noted that the show was due to move back to the old halls next year.

Everything, said Kassim, was sold off the stand and other major contracts were signed for equipment supplies or projects – even turnkey projects – in Saudi Arabia, Kurdistan, Pakistan and North Africa.

Image: Nabil Kassim (centre) cuts the celebration cake watched by Al Othaim’s general manager Mohammad Attia, alongside Apple Industries’ Allen Weisberg.