Tawhid Abdullah
One of the oldest and busiest trading districts in Dubai, Deira Gold Souk reopened last week, following the directives of the Supreme Committee of Crisis and Disaster Management. The COVID-19 pandemic has challenged the global retail industry, and the gold & jewellery sector isn’t immune. But Tawhid Abdullah, chairman, Dubai Gold & Jewellery Group stresses, “We’ve resilience and experience to overcome the crisis.”
Starting April 26, retailers within Deira Gold Souk began operating at reduced trading hours. Before the opening, Dubai’s Al Ras and Naif areas, Deira Gold Souk and individual stores completed an extensive sterilisation programme following stringent health and safety guidelines, announced by Dubai Economy.
“We express our gratitude to the leaders of this country, government entities, Dubai Police, CID and all the first responders who worked tirelessly to get us to this point. The UAE has led by example and left no stones unturned before easing the COVID-19 restriction and opening shopping malls, markets and commercial outlets. It is our collective effort aimed at successfully implementing the retail protocol mandated by Dubai Economy in a manner that is both safe and effective, as we prepare in stages in the coming months to work towards 100% capacity operations,” Abdullah states.
“As on April 30, we were already 35-40% functional, and by the first week of May it will go up to almost 90%,” he shares. “However, the visitor number is low. We have and will continue undertaking every measure possible to reinstate confidence among consumers to start coming back to Deira Gold Souk. We will continue following health & safety guidelines. We have installed several hand sanitisation stations, those entering the premises are undergoing temperature checks, and they must wear face masks and gloves. We are also following social distancing norms.”
At a time when the financial market is suffering, gold is being looked upon as “safe” investment.
“Gold is a superhero in the commodities market. From the country to Central Bank, traders to customers, there is trust in gold as a safe form of investment. However, this year will be challenging. But Dubai is the ‘City of Gold’, and we will work tirelessly to overcome the crisis and regain our shine,” Abdullah concludes.
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