Monday, May 20, 2013
Dubai: There aren’t that many prestige — and celebrity — labels out there which have not got itself a representation in the Gulf by now. Nicole Richie, UK designer and a constant in the UK media’s society pages, is now the latest celeb to get a GCC retail exposure.
Gulf Mode has acquired the distribution rights for House of Harlow, the Nicole Richie fronted fashion jewellery line that was launched in late 2008. “House of Harlow will be sold in stores, major department stores and several online fashion boutiques as opposed to having its own retail outlets,” said Christopher Karam, general manager at Gulf Mode.
“As it stands, the Middle East is among the largest luxury goods markets in the world. However, there are still many new and innovative brands that have yet to penetrate the region.”
Gulf Mode has the House of Harlow rights for the UAE and Kuwait. As to why it did not consider going in with a wider coverage, Karam said: “Gulf Mode does not follow the trend of excess; we grow our business steadily with a strong base [and] then move on to the next step. Kuwait was the second GCC country we selected as we have a K-Lynn boutique there that is a great location in which to sell House of Harlow items.”
Key locations in Abu Dhabi are definitely on the agenda. “We now have four K-Lynn stores in the UAE, and Abu Dhabi is most definitely on our growth agenda as we have a fifth store set to open there in June,” said Karam. “We’ve been growing our portfolio since 1988, and what started off as a small company in Beirut has now expanded to the entire GCC and Levant.”
The UAE has been steadfast in its reputation as a go-to place for prestige brands. CBRE, the consultancy, places Dubai among the Top 10 destinations for luxury and business fashion, with Shanghai and Beijing leading the way and London in the third spot.
This fascination with the UAE is not limited to retailers answering to a prestige description. Among retailers of all stripes which went in for overseas expansion last year, the UAE easily made it to the Top 10 destinations for new entrants. Hong Kong saw more than 50 of them while the UAE saw 25 entries, the same as Singapore.
“Notable by its absence from the Top 10 was China which attracted only four new retailers, including Ted Baker and Forever 21, even though there were around 100 new entries in the 15 Chinese cities surveyed,” says the CBRE report.
By Manoj Nair Associate Editor
Gulf News 2013. All rights reserved.
