Dubai - MENA Herald: The Commercial Compliance & Consumer Protection (CCCP) sector in the Department of Economic Development (DED) in Dubai has given a ‘VIP Category’ rating to The Apparel Group for its outstanding success in complying with business regulation and implementing the ‘Self Inspector’ initiative for retail groups and shopping malls.
The Self Inspector initiative was introduced in 2014 to enable inspectors nominated by shopping malls and retail groups to ensure full compliance of their respective business outlets with DED’s commercial guidelines and regulations without the need for field visits by CCCP officials.
The VIP rating is given after the retail group’s stores complete four rounds of inspection visits in a year and a meeting held between CCCP and the group management. The programme was introduced as part of CCCP’s efforts to strengthen commercial compliance supervision as well as relations with business owners and promote confidence among traders by aligning the business environment with international best practices.
Mohammed Ali Rashed Lootah, Executive Director of CCCP, commented: "We are pleased to see such a high level of commitment from a prominent business like The Apparel Group. No violation or irregularity was noticed after 118 inspections conducted in The Apparel Group outlets. It demonstrates the mutual trust between the public and private sectors in Dubai and more importantly, their common role in improving service quality and transparency in retailing.”
The inspectors nominated by malls and business groups attend workshops and seminars after which they go on field inspections. CCCP continues to provide further training for the Self Inspectors and follow-up visits are conducted by the Commercial Control section of DED. Lootah said the Self Inspector initiative primarily aims to consolidate Dubai's position as one of the best shopping destinations in the world. In the first phase DED targeted qualifying inspectors from 18 shopping centres and a retail group. The programme has now progressed through the next stages covering various business groups and shopping centres in Dubai.
“We have trained at least 51 self- inspector in the Apparel Group along with a large group of inspectors from various other retail groups and shopping centres free of charge. There are also private certification bodies involved and the inspectors receive a special graduation certificate on completion of the training. We call on all retail groups and shopping centres to participate in this initiative and benefit from this experience.”
“We are pleased to win the ‘VIP category’ rating in the self-inspector program. I would like to commend DED’s efforts in promoting Dubai’s retail sector and ensuring compliance with international best practices within the Emirate”, said Mr. Nilesh Ved - Chairman, Apparel Group.
CCCP assesses the Self Inspectors across various stages and rates the participating business groups and shopping centres as follows: Excellent and committed (15-25 points ), Needs follow-up (25-50 points), Needs further training and qualification(50 points and above). Inspectors are asked to attend graduation programmes again in the case of repeated or accumulated cases of irregularities or if the inspector is seen as ineffective.
