Electronics Retailer introduces latest philanthropic initiative ‘Jacky’s Eco-Care’

Release Date: 13th August 2011

jackys eco care

Jacky’s Electronics, the UAE’s leading multi-brand consumer electronics retailer, has partnered with UAE-based philanthropic organisation Dubai Cares, to help raise funds for its Girls’ Education Campaign 2011. The campaign aims to increase awareness of the importance of girls’ education as well as raise funds to support Dubai Cares programs, which address the gender imbalance in primary education and empower girls within their communities in developing countries across the world.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), signed by Tariq Al Gurg, Chief Executive Officer of Dubai Cares, and Ashish Panjabi, Chief Operating Officer of Jacky’s Electronics, is effective between August and November 2011. Through Dubai Cares’ Point of Sale (POS) Promotion, customers are given the opportunity to donate AED5 by choosing to add the amount to purchases made at Jacky’s.

Meanwhile, Jacky’s Eco-Care, the company’s newest initiative launched this Ramadan, allows customers to further support Dubai Cares through the “Jacky’s Eco-Exchange” and “You Shop We Donate” programs. Jacky’s will donate AED10 for every old electronic product recycled in addition to donations of up to AED200 on purchases made by customers on selected product ranges. All proceeds will be donated to Dubai Cares as part of its fundraising activities.

“Jacky’s campaign, in support of the ‘Dubai Cares Girls’ Education Campaign 2011’, is a very generous initiative which gives members of the community innovative ways of participation in our fundraising campaign. Dubai Cares relies on the support of the community to continue to make a difference in the lives of children in developing countries. Funds raised through this campaign will go towards providing girls in developing countries with quality primary education, which is one of the best solutions to poverty,” said Al Gurg.

“Jacky’s Electronics is raising its bar to engage our customers to become socially responsible by giving back to the community and serving the less fortunate particularly young children. It is our privilege to support Dubai Cares in its quest to provide quality primary education to girls in developing countries around the world,” Panjabi said.

“Through Jacky’s Eco-Care, recycling old gadgets will not only make a positive impact on the environment, but will also allow us to support young children to attend school by donating to Dubai Cares. We urge all our loyal customers to join us in this worthwhile campaign by taking part in our latest philanthropic initiative,” Panjabi added.

The ‘Dubai Cares Girls’ Education Campaign 2011’ is the latest in a series of Ramadan campaigns run by Dubai Cares, which was launched in 2007 by HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. In 2010, Dubai Cares launched its “School Feeding Campaign” which raised funds that are currently supporting school feeding programs for undernourished primary school-aged children in the Gaza Strip and Bangladesh, benefiting 80,000 and 88,000 children, respectively.

Jacky’s Eco-Care is an annual CSR activity which engages its customers to be socially and environmentally responsible in support of Dubai Cares charity activities. 

Aiming to raise consumer awareness on the proper disposal of electronic products, Jacky’s Electronics, the UAE’s leading multi-brand consumer electronics retailer, recently held an ‘Eco-Exchange Recycling’ Roadshow at its Mirdif City Centre Outlet.

The Eco-exchange roadshow highlighted the importance of recycling electronic products through a question and answer competition. During the event, customers could bring in their old mobile phones, notebooks, cameras, MP3 players and gaming consoles and recycle them on the spot to receive special prizes and cash vouchers for future purchases at Jacky’s.

“Going green has been a united effort by companies in the world and we would like to take part in creating awareness on the value of recycling electronic products with our customers. Holding this roadshow during DSS is an ideal time as we are able to target the whole family, including the youngsters and teenagers, and keep them informed of different ways to properly dispose their gadgets without any harmful effects to our environment,” said Ashish Panjabi, Chief Operating Officer, Jacky’s Electronics.

The Eco-exchange roadshow was held in partnership with City 101.6 and hosted by their presenters, Tia and Sid. Ten Fujifilm digital cameras and a Nintendo Wii Console were given to lucky customers. The event coincided with the 41st anniversary of Jacky’s Group of Companies, and Group founder and Managing Director, Jacky Panjabi, was on hand to celebrate the event.

Launched last year, Jacky’s Eco-Exchange Programme allows customers to trade devices from old mobile phones, notebooks, cameras, MP3 players and gaming consoles to any of Jacky’s outlet across the UAE to get a cash voucher for their future purchase of choice.  The value of the product is calculated in-store by trained Customer Service Executives who use a custom-built online portal to help determine what the value of the product would be, whether it is working or non-working.

With the Eco-Exchange programme all customers also have the option to trade devices in whatever brand or condition, allowing them to frequently buy latest devices and keeping up with the fast changing technology. Jacky’s also offer a value on non-working products, where in many cases a trade-in value is also given and where there is no trade-in value, the  will still be recycled free of charge.  

Jacky’s Electronics, the UAE’s leading multi-brand electronics retailer, received its Superbrand Status for sixth consecutive years.

One of the first consumer electronics retailers to be recognised by the UAE Superbrands Council, a branch of the internationally renowned Superbrands organisation, Jacky’s Electronics received its first recognition in 2004. Jacky’s will be included in the seventh edition of the much coveted coffee-table style Superbrands book, which includes a two-page profile of each of the Superbrands selected by a panel of experts and eminent figures from the world of branding.

“Considered as the ‘Oscars of Branding’, the Superbrands award prompts us to reinforce our commitment of providing the best services to our customers,” said Ashish Panjabi, Chief Operating Officer, Jacky’s Electronics. “Since receiving our first Superbrands award, we have launched several initiatives that will add more value to our customers; among them were the Jacky’s Extended Warranty and the Jacky’s Eco-Exchange programmes. For six straight years, being recognised as a Superbrand solidifies Jacky’s Electronics’ leadership position in the electronic retail sector.”

Jacky’s was one of a select number of brands in the UAE from over 800 short listed companies to receive the prestigious award. 

Jacky’s Electronics was awarded as the ‘Best Security Implementation Project of the Year’ during the recent Network Middle East Innovation Awards 2011 for implementing a successful security project that addressed its dynamic needs and securing its network from any online and software threats.

Last year, Jacky’s has deployed SonicWALL’s United Threat Management (UTM) security solution in order to optimise the bandwidth of its network across its 10 retail outlets and remote warehouse locations in the UAE. This solution allowed Jacky’s to monitor and control network usage, save costs on lease lines and establish content security and integrity.

Kuldeep Walia, Jacky’s Electronics’ IT Manager, received the accolade from ITP Publishing, organisers of the awards, at Dubai’s Grosvenor House Hotel. The annual award, the longest-running of its kind in the Middle East, honoured the best technology providers, professionals and projects in the region illustrating its status a centre of innovation in ICT and networking.

Retail Giant is a Sponsor at 2011 Musical Gala featuring Vyas Brothers

Release Date: 27th April 2011

Jacky’s Electronics, the UAE’s leading multi-brand consumer electronics retailer, is participating as a sponsor in the 2011 Musical Gala, the fourth fund-raising gala of the Dubai Chapter of CARE Foundation, Pakistan’s largest charitable non-profit organisation.

The musical gala is held in conjunction with Red Crescent, a local charity partner, and will be followed by music and entertainment by the popular singing group Vyas Brothers. Scheduled to be held on 29th April, at Jumeirah Beach Hotel, all the proceeds at the sit-down dinner will be used in the rebuilding of schools destroyed by the recent floods in Pakistan.

“Every day we serve customers in our retail outlets but as members of the community, we wanted to see what else we could do to help the community and serve the less fortunate. It is our privilege to be associated and be part of CARE Foundation’s noble cause of improving the lives of poor students by giving them a quality education,” said Ashish Panjabi, Chief Operating Officer, Jacky’s Electronics.

The musical gala serves as a platform to highlight the ongoing crisis in Pakistan and raise funds for the reconstruction and rehabilitation of schools, including homes, clean water, and health facilities in the country. The event is expected to be attended by some of the country’s prominent members of the Pakistani, Indian and other expatriate communities.

“Organisations like Jacky’s Electronics have always been active members of the community and are giving back to the society by being involved in charitable fundraising. Together, we are contributing towards a worthy cause by helping the future generations attain their dreams,” said Sehr Amjad Ismail, President, CARE Foundation Pakistan Dubai.

The CARE Foundation, established in Pakistan in 1988 to provide quality education to the country’s underprivileged children, recently won the ‘Best Charity Organization’ award by Ahlan Group’s ITP Publications. CARE successfully manages 188 schools across Pakistan, educates over 145,000 children, employs over 2000 teachers, successfully graduated over 34,000 students and provides scholarships to 800 students through the higher education support programme.

Company sees 40% rise in key product categories

Release Date: 20th February 2011

With more customers deciding to recycle their electronics when buying new products, Jacky’s Electronics has seen a sales growth in key product categories during the month long Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF).

Since expanding its Eco-Exchange programme early this year to accept old notebooks, cameras, MP3 players and gaming consoles, more customers have exchanged their old products for cash vouchers to upgrade to the latest tech gadgets in the market. As one of the few retailers who offer such services meant more customers who are going green shopped at Jacky’s outlets to recycle and buy electronics during DSF.

This contributed to company’s sales increase of 35 to 40% in product categories such as smartphones, tablet PCs and televisions throughout the festival period. Among the popular products were the Apple iPad, Samsung Galaxy Tab, Apple iPhone 4 and BlackBerry smartphones while the upcoming Cricket World Cup has boosted the sales of televisions.

“The Eco-Exchange programme generated awareness this year showing that more people are not only after buying the newest products in the market but are becoming environmentally aware. The cash vouchers we provided for every product being recycled were one of the key factors for our increased sales as more people now tend to let go of their old gadgets to get new ones,” said Ashish Panjabi, Chief Operating Officer, Jacky’s Electronics.

“With the festival season coinciding with the Chinese New Year and the school holidays in Saudi Arabia, we have seen a visible increase in the number of Chinese and Saudi tourists who shopped with us. There were also plenty of Indian nationals who came to our outlets across the country,” he added.

Jacky’s DSF promotions of free gifts and a wide range of value bundles in key product categories have been received well by its customers. It also partnered with Paris Gallery to raffle away 32” BenQ LCD TVs every day for the entire DSF which contributed to the company’s sales growth.

Jacky’s Electronics is also offering Extended Warranty scheme on all products.  The company also constantly updates customers on trends that happened during DSF via it’s blog at http://blogs.jackys.com where details on bestselling products were shared.  Customers can also stay updated with the latest deals and promotions from Jacky’s via its social media channels, twitter - www.twitter.com/jackysuae  and Facebook - www.facebook.com/jackysuae.

Jacky’s Electronics has given away a 32” BenQ LCD TV to lucky customers who shopped at Paris Gallery during Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF) from 20th January to 20th February 2011.

More BenQ LCD TVs are up for grabs for any customers who buy at Paris Gallery during DSF.  Each customer will receive a coupon to enter the daily draw at Jacky’s.

Giving the BenQ 32” LCD TVs to the winners (centre) were (L-R) Jimmy Patel, General Manager, Jacky’s Electronics; Shana Clucas, Marketing Manager, Paris Gallery; Swapna Nair, Marcom Director, BenQ; and Kiran Borkar, Business Development Manager, Jacky’s Electronics.

Aside from the LCD TV, Jacky’s Electronics is offering a wide range of value bundles in key product categories and free gifts to its loyal customers in this period. For more updates on the latest gadgets and technologies, please visit Jacky’s Electronics’ fanpage on www.facebook.com/jackysuae/.

Jacky’s Electronics, the UAE’s leading multi-brand consumer electronics retailer, and The Green Foundation, a leading organisation specialised in electronics recycling, announced the newest owner of an Apple iPad, courtesy of the recently concluded competition on Facebook dubbed as ‘Go Green and win an iPad’.

Poornika Chauhan and her family became the lucky winner via a raffle draw with all the customers who submitted their photos with a Jacky’s customer service executive while exchanging their mobile phones for a cash voucher. The contest, in connection with Jacky’s Go Green campaign, ‘Eco-Exchange: Recycling that pays’, ran from 20th December 2010 to 19th January 2011.

Dominic Gothard (right), Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Green Foundation, and Jimmy Patel (left), General Manager, Jacky’s Electronics, awarded the Apple iPad to Chauhan and family (centre).

For more updates on the latest gadgets and technologies, please visit Jacky’s Electronics’ fanpage on www.facebook.com/jackysuae/.

Release Date: 21st December 2010 

Jacky’s Electronics, the UAE’s leading multi-brand consumer electronics retailer, in connection with its Go Green campaign – ‘Eco-Exchange: Recycling that pays’ – is giving away an Apple iPad to one lucky Facebook Fan who will exchange his old mobile phone at any Jacky’s store. The old mobile phone could be in a working or non-working condition.

All Facebook fans of Jacky’s Electronics can enter the competition by taking interesting photos with a Jacky’s customer service executive whenever they exchange their mobile phones for a cash voucher from 20th December 2010 to 19th January 2011. Dubbed as ‘Go Green and win an iPad’, all photo entries must be uploaded on Jacky’s fan page – www.facebook.com/jackysuae/ – to get an entry into the draw for the Apple iPad.

“In October, we have enhanced our Go Green programme by launching the ‘Eco-Exchange’, which hopes to help in the proper disposal of electronic products in the country without any harmful environmental effects,” said Ashish Panjabi, Chief Operating Officer, Jacky’s Electronics. “Our partnership with The Green Foundation, a leading organisation specialised in electronics recycling, assures us that all devices including accessories are 100% reused or recycled to the highest industry standards through a strict zero landfill policy.

“This Facebook competition hopes to encourage more consumer awareness for recycling programmes such as this and to encourage recycling of old phones. The fact that you could be the proud owner of an iPad at the same time in addition to a cash voucher which you receive is a bonus for the customer,” he added.

Jacky’s Eco-Exchange scheme accepts up to five mobile phones in a single transaction as well as offers bulk recycling for larger quantities of mobile phones. In addition, customers can trade in their devices in whatever brand or condition. Jacky’s is offering value for non-working mobile phones, and if no value is available, the phones will still be recycled free of charge. 

“As the region’s full service recycling company, we are focused on partnering with leading electronic retailers in the UAE to ensure that all electrical items are recycled to the highest industry standards. With Jacky’s Electronics’ significant fans on Facebook, we are able to promote the recycling of electronic products which are generally being set aside by users,” Dominic Gothard, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman, The Green Foundation said.

How to Win:

All registered Facebook users should become a fan of Jacky’s Electronics page and post their photos with a Customer Service Executive every time they exchange their old mobile phones at any Jacky’s outlets in the UAE. For the official competition rules, please visit: http://www.facebook.com/jackysuae/.

Jacky’s Electronics, the UAE’s number one multi-brand electronics retailer, remained us the top retailer in terms of sales revenue at this year’s Gitex Shopper.

The company has experienced an increase of 15 percent in sales from last year with more visitors attending the event as compared to previous years. Notebooks and smartphones remained the most sold products followed by digital cameras and TVs. 

“Our great bundles, raffles of BenQ LCD TVs every 15 minutes and price points made our participation successful again this year. During the final days, some of the bundles such as Acer Intel Core i3 laptops with free netbook and cellphone gave a boost to sales. In addition, Canon DSLR bundled with an extra lens and a 22” LCD TV made the cameras sell like hotcakes,” said Ashish Panjabi, Chief Operating Officer, Jacky’s Electronics.

“This year, majority of our customers were Asians including from the Indian subcontinent and Pan Arabs. There was also an increase of local Emiratis who came to the event as compared from last year,” he added.

In addition, Panjabi furthered that the Dubai Metro and the free shuttle bus services from Rashidiya station made the event more accessible to visitors. There was also better event awareness from the first day onwards bringing consistency in sales throughout the day event as opposed to the skews towards two or three days that the event traditionally had.

Jacky’s Electronics, the exhibition’s Strategic Partners, is discussing the size of its   participation in next year’s Gitex Shopper with the Dubai World Trade Centre.

“Gitex Shopper is an important event for the company as it gives us a chance to understand firsthand our customers’ needs in a short period of time. Furthermore, it also allows us to showcase ourselves to thousands of customers who may not be frequent visitors to our retail outlets, and in turn make them into loyal customers in the long term. Most specially, Gitex Shopper is another month in our calendar in terms of sales revenue,” Panjabi explained.

Social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter were also significant tools for Jacky’s Electronics this year. The company was able to answer queries and made daily updates on new deals when they happen on the shop floor. Jacky’s Facebook and Twitter fanpages are www.facebook.com/jackysuae/ and www.twitter.com/jackysuae/