Yellow hat performance stores in Dubai.

speedzak · 4th September 2008, 21:13

After a lot of hype from Steer and my cousins, I paid a good visit to this thingy! Yellow hat!
I had lots of expectations and hopes in my mind(s) when I walked in. The experience was outstanding!! I drooled over the various models of HUs, amplifiers, cabling accessories, speakers, subs etc.. Unlimited designs of wheels from some exotic brands, performance parts, suspension parts, various interior and exterior accessories etc..

The personnel in the shop were very very courteous. I made friends with almost everybody in the shop. And I was not just passing thru. I stopped, learned and browsed thru each and every item I was interested in. A good 3 hours!
After all this, they gifted me some caps, pens and other freebies when I chose to return empty handed from there.

Why?
Why empty handed? Here starts my list of unimpressite thingys.
First of all, the prices are prohibitively high. Some things are relatively cheaper in India with Bill & Warranty. Most of the stuff available was not so satisfiable in quality. There're similar products available elsewhere which are better made/finished. So, I didn't find many of their stuff not worth buying/spending upon.
And staff, eventhough they're very courteous and pleasing, they're not certainly equally educated or well informed of the stuff in the shop. A definite negative point for a shop with such a reputation.
Many high end stuff not available. Worse, they haven't even heard of some. Imagine some ICE shop where nobody has heard of an F1 status? Audisons? Becker? Nay!!

So, it's just a bit of bling-i-fyed version of your neighbourhood car accessories shop. That's what I'd say after my visit to YellowHat!

I'd say it's worth visiting this shop to see many things in car accessories. But it's not worth buying from there.

cheap_deal · 5th September 2008, 13:31

+100 on what you said. ive been there too, i walked out in 30mins, nothing that caught my attention, nothing great about the place. forget becker, i dont think they even had jbl there!!

GTO · 6th September 2008, 11:50

This is a concept that has huge potential in India. Leaving Yellow Hat's supposed lack of quality / pricing strategy aside, just the thought of a comprehensive retail outlet that maintains a stock of high quality accessories, performance add-ons, upholstery work , tyre / alloy wheels and pro-grade installs turns me on. Seriously!

The after-market options we have right now are woefully disorganised....we get lucky only after trial & error and some bad experiences. Us car guys can get incredibly anal about the quality of part / installation, and there are few shops that cater to our needs. Organised retail now extends to even vegetables in India, why not the after-market parts industry? The Indian car industry has grown and matured, disposable income is on the rise.....small accessory shops are mushrooming just about everywhere. There clearly is a market for organised retail.

It is an opportunity just waiting to be tapped into.

mclaren1885 · 12th September 2008, 20:58

Any websites of good aftermarket tuning shops in DXB? Steer, nitroxx, can you pls post them for us? Thanks in advance.

Steeroid · 14th September 2008, 16:57

Zak and I trawled Naif street for a few hours last Tuesday, most of which were spent going round and round in crazy traffic looking for a parking spot.

The good news is that we found the Eclipse HU that KPZEN wanted in Naif at the end of our hunt, just as we had given up and turned back towards the car.

Consider this - nobody in Yellow Hat has heard of Eclipse. GWT had Eclipse HUs, but only the high-end variety. Most people in Naif thought we were looking for the OE HU of the Mitsu Eclipse.

Whats the point of an accessory superstore if you cant get stuff that is available in a small 20x30 feet roadside shop?

And after all that we decided to visit McDonalds at Nad Al Hamar - and see a giant Yellow Hat complex coming up next to it, with bays for ICE, Oil Change, Detailing, Wash, etc...same stuff on a much bigger scale. Is it really going to make a difference?

nitrous · 14th September 2008, 20:21

Quote:

Originally Posted by GTO

This is a concept that has huge potential in India.

Dilip Chabbria's son had started a similar venture and gave out franchises all over the country.
It never took off.

GTO · 15th September 2008, 14:15

Quote:

Originally Posted by nitrous

Dilip Chabbria's son had started a similar venture and gave out franchises all over the country.
It never took off.

Mass-retail, due to economy of scale, ought to lead to lower prices. I have been made to believe that DC's pricing was higher than our corner shops!

Steeroid · 15th September 2008, 14:39

Quote:

Originally Posted by GTO

I have been made to believe that DC's pricing was higher than our corner shops!

Similarly with Yellow Hat - so whats the point in going there anyway?

4th September 2008, 21:13	#16
speedzak BANNED Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: India Posts: 4,347 Thanked: 27 Times	After a lot of hype from Steer and my cousins, I paid a good visit to this thingy! Yellow hat! I had lots of expectations and hopes in my mind(s) when I walked in. The experience was outstanding!! I drooled over the various models of HUs, amplifiers, cabling accessories, speakers, subs etc.. Unlimited designs of wheels from some exotic brands, performance parts, suspension parts, various interior and exterior accessories etc.. The personnel in the shop were very very courteous. I made friends with almost everybody in the shop. And I was not just passing thru. I stopped, learned and browsed thru each and every item I was interested in. A good 3 hours! After all this, they gifted me some caps, pens and other freebies when I chose to return empty handed from there. Why? Why empty handed? Here starts my list of unimpressite thingys. First of all, the prices are prohibitively high. Some things are relatively cheaper in India with Bill & Warranty. Most of the stuff available was not so satisfiable in quality. There're similar products available elsewhere which are better made/finished. So, I didn't find many of their stuff not worth buying/spending upon. And staff, eventhough they're very courteous and pleasing, they're not certainly equally educated or well informed of the stuff in the shop. A definite negative point for a shop with such a reputation. Many high end stuff not available. Worse, they haven't even heard of some. Imagine some ICE shop where nobody has heard of an F1 status? Audisons? Becker? Nay!! So, it's just a bit of bling-i-fyed version of your neighbourhood car accessories shop. That's what I'd say after my visit to YellowHat! I'd say it's worth visiting this shop to see many things in car accessories. But it's not worth buying from there.
	() Thanks

5th September 2008, 13:31	#17
cheap_deal BHPian Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: unknown Posts: 465 Thanked: 8 Times	+100 on what you said. ive been there too, i walked out in 30mins, nothing that caught my attention, nothing great about the place. forget becker, i dont think they even had jbl there!!
	() Thanks

6th September 2008, 11:50	#18
GTO Team-BHP Support Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Bombay Posts: 70,546 Thanked: 300,762 Times View My Garage	This is a concept that has huge potential in India. Leaving Yellow Hat's supposed lack of quality / pricing strategy aside, just the thought of a comprehensive retail outlet that maintains a stock of high quality accessories, performance add-ons, upholstery work , tyre / alloy wheels and pro-grade installs turns me on. Seriously! The after-market options we have right now are woefully disorganised....we get lucky only after trial & error and some bad experiences. Us car guys can get incredibly anal about the quality of part / installation, and there are few shops that cater to our needs. Organised retail now extends to even vegetables in India, why not the after-market parts industry? The Indian car industry has grown and matured, disposable income is on the rise.....small accessory shops are mushrooming just about everywhere. There clearly is a market for organised retail. It is an opportunity just waiting to be tapped into.
	() Thanks

12th September 2008, 20:58	#19
mclaren1885 BANNED Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Bangalore (the city of modded cars) !! Posts: 4,820 Thanked: 45 Times View My Garage Infractions: 0/1 (10)	Any websites of good aftermarket tuning shops in DXB? Steer, nitroxx, can you pls post them for us? Thanks in advance.
	() Thanks

14th September 2008, 16:57	#20
Steeroid Senior - BHPian Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: N.A Posts: 7,046 Thanked: 2,751 Times	Zak and I trawled Naif street for a few hours last Tuesday, most of which were spent going round and round in crazy traffic looking for a parking spot. The good news is that we found the Eclipse HU that KPZEN wanted in Naif at the end of our hunt, just as we had given up and turned back towards the car. Consider this - nobody in Yellow Hat has heard of Eclipse. GWT had Eclipse HUs, but only the high-end variety. Most people in Naif thought we were looking for the OE HU of the Mitsu Eclipse. Whats the point of an accessory superstore if you cant get stuff that is available in a small 20x30 feet roadside shop? And after all that we decided to visit McDonalds at Nad Al Hamar - and see a giant Yellow Hat complex coming up next to it, with bays for ICE, Oil Change, Detailing, Wash, etc...same stuff on a much bigger scale. Is it really going to make a difference?
	() Thanks