The retail market in Dubai is doing well - thanks to shoppers with pockets, wallets and bank accounts full of cash who are increasingly splurging on high-end products, confirmed an industry expert.
"Business is excellent for the upper market," said Mohi-Din A Binhendi, president, BinHendi Enterprises at the launch of the first Ulysse Nardin watch showroom in the region.
The group, which specialises in high-end products, has from its inception only dealt with quality, said Binhendi.
"We opted from the beginning to go with the best products in the world," he said. "We do not believe in going in to the middle market because there is so much competition.
"At the moment the upper market is excellent - people with money will always spend money." Bin Hendi's comments must ring true as he is investing more than Dh6 million in developing four Ulysse Nardin showroooms in the emirate.
For the past 15 years, BinHendi Enterprises has been the distributor for the Swiss-based watch brand.
"We are going to have about four of these stores across Dubai - we have this one here at Deira City Centre and we will open one at Burjuman when the extension is done and then we will have one at Jumeirah Beach Hotel and one at another mall." He said that each store cost at least Dh1.5 million to set up.
Ulysse Nardin watches are not for the cash-strapped time keeper - the cheapest product is about Dh40,000. The range continues up to about Dh1 million.
Ulysse Nardin, which has been making watches since 1846, is available in Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi and Oman.
The brand expects to open a dedicated store in Riyadh later this year and another one in Jeddah next year. Each year, about 10,000 Ulysse Nardin watches are made - about 800 of them are sold in the Middle East.
Gulf News 2003
