Caption Story - Develop Conference - Dubai
DEVELOP distributor summit 2014
JOHANNESBURG – October 29, 2014 – This year, bustling Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) played host to the annual DEVELOP Distributor Summit. Dubai, the most populous city and emirate in the UAE, is located on the southeast coast of the Persian Gulf and is one of seven emirates that make up the country.
The summit, which was held at the five-star luxury Sofitel Dubai Jumeirah Beach hotel, spanned two days - one full day of conference sessions and the other for sightseeing, along with evening events. Sixty three delegates from the A to Z of DEVELOP businesses across the globe were welcomed to this year’s summit, including Australia, Morocco, The Netherlands and the United Kingdom. The summit also played host to managing director of DEVELOP South Africa, Marc Pillay, who has been responsible for evolving the DEVELOP brand since its launch in the South African market in 2009.
The conference sessions were dedicated to the event motto: “committed to DEVELOP”. During the first part of the conference, delegates looked at global trends and technical innovations – and their impact on the workplace of today and tomorrow, along with an outlook on DEVELOP’s product portfolio and new marketing tools. The evening event was a 4x4 dune bashing experience, followed by a stunning falconry display and an Arabian banquet at a Bedouin camp in the desert at sunset; a dramatic way to end an inspiring day.
The second part of the conference gave the delegates a chance to further discover their host city with either a catamaran cruise around Palm Island or shopping delights at the sprawling Dubai Mall and nearby Souk al Bahar, followed by a dinner at the magnificent Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world, and an enchanting dinner cruise in a glass boat.
Speaking of the event, Pillay says: “This summit provided us with an excellent opportunity to review the past year, and to see what DEVELOP has in store for us in the coming year. As a group we have seen a 12 percent growth worldwide; whilst in South Africa we have seen a year-on-year turnover growth of 45 percent. We were able to take away key information on product, marketing and market trends which will help us to continue successfully growing the DEVELOP South Africa business, and further support our expanding dealer network.”
ABOUT DEVELOP SOUTH AFRICA:
DEVELOP South Africa, is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Bidvest Group Limited. DEVELOP is one of the leading international brands, with an operational stance of consultative business partnering. The company assesses, designs and guides throughout the implementation process and beyond, offering continued onsite technical and software management as well as the supply of spare parts and consumables. Its primary objective is increasing productivity in the customer’s business environment. With “dynamic balance”, DEVELOP South Africa offers clients cost effective innovation in the product area, the readiness and ability to flexibly respond to the requirements of the market and customers, and unrestricted customer satisfaction; whilst being dedicated to a fair relationship with their business partners
CONTACTS:
DEVELOP SA: Rehana Omar, (011) 661-9191, rehana@develop.co.za, www.developsa.com
icomm: Debbie Sielemann, +27 (0) 82 414 4633, debbie(at)pr.co.za, www.icomm-pr.co.za