Leading Middle East consumer tech distributors and retailers recognised at 10th annual MERA Awards

by Stuart Wilson, Monday 15 May 2017

The 10th annual Middle East Retail Academy (MERA) Awards took place on May 9th in Dubai, in conjunction with regional consumer tech channel event DISTREE Middle East 2017.

The awards recognised outstanding performance in the market, with categories covering distributors, retailers, e-tailers and online marketplaces.

Stuart Wilson, organiser of the MERA Awards, stated: “We congratulate all winners on their achievement. The winners in each category were determined using continuous channel feedback from the last 12 months, plus input from a VIP Jury.”

“We continue to see high levels of innovation in the regional consumer tech channel as distributors, retailers, e-tailers and marketplaces redefine models of consumer interaction and embrace new omnichannel models,” he added.

2017 winners

The complete list of 2017 MERA Award winners by category was as follows:

• Redington: Volume Distributor of the Year - Middle East

• TargetOne: Accessories Distributor of the Year - Middle East

• Lime Concepts: Lifestyle Distributor of the Year - Middle East

• Carrefour: Overall Retailer of the Year – UAE

• Sharaf DG: Specialist Retailer of the Year – UAE

• Extra: Retailer of the Year – Saudi Arabia

• Lulu: Retailer of the Year – Oman

• Sharaf DG: Retailer of the Year – Bahrain

• Alghanim (x-cite): Retailer of the Year – Kuwait

• Lulu: Retailer of the Year – Qatar

• CompuMe: Retailer of the Year – Egypt

• Carrefour: Retailer of the Year – Jordan

• M2: Retailer of the Year - Lebanon

• Electrocity: Retailer of the Year – Iran

• Carrefour: Retailer of the Year - Iraq

• Digikala: E-tailer of the Year (TIED RESULT)

• Letstango: E-tailer of the Year (TIED RESULT)

• Souq.com: Online Marketplace of the Year

The winners in all award categories were selected from companies participating in DISTREE Middle East 2017. New awards introduced in 2017 included Retailer of the Year for Iran as well as Online Marketplace of the Year.

Wilson added: “The Middle East consumer tech channel continues to reinvent itself as new business models and new geographic opportunities emerge. It was fitting that Souq.com picked up the new Online Marketplace of the Year Award so soon after its acquisition by Amazon. The awards for Electrocity and Digikala also highlight the huge opportunity that exists in Iran, and the rapid development of structured retail and e-tail within this strategic regional market.”

DISTREE Middle East took place from May 8-10th at the Meydan Racecourse in Dubai, UAE. This week’s event gathered more than 200 senior executives and buyers from the region’s leading consumer technology retailers and e-tailers in one place at one time. During the three-day event, exhibiting vendors and distributors held thousands of pre-scheduled one-on-one meetings with buyers from across the region.

DISTREE Middle East 2017 was supported by Gold Sponsors Lime Concepts and TargetOne, plus Event Partners GfK, IE Singapore and Naghsh. Content Providers at this year’s event included Azur Digital, CONTEXT, GfK and Sixthfactor.

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DISTREE Middle East 2017

We are pleased to confirm that Channel EMEA is an official Media Partner for all DISTREE events in 2017, including DISTREE Middle East. DISTREE Middle East 2017, which took place from May 8-10th in Dubai, gathering together hundreds of senior executives from e-tailers, retailers, online marketplaces, distributors and vendors of consumer tech products.