Dubai, January 14th 2008 - Al Tayer Trends Beauty launches the first Korres store in the Middle East in Dubai Mall bringing the natural feel of the brand to Dubai.

Korres owes its name to the founder of the Greek skincare brand George Korres, who while still a student started mixing natural pharmacy ingredients to create herbal preparations, natural remedies and eventually cosmetic products. Korres Natural Products emerged in 1996 out of Athens' first ever homeopathic pharmacy where George used to work. It still remains the city's biggest pharmacy of its kind with a dedicated client following. The first Korres product was aromatic herbal syrup with honey and aniseed, a recipe inspired by "rakomelon", a warming spirit-with-honey concoction, which George's grandfather used to favour in his hometown on the island of Naxos.

In the120 sq.m. Korres store in Dubai Mall, old garage dexions and shiny golden mirrors; wooden palettes and fluorescent tubes; industrial and modern; cheap and expensive, all meet in the name of beauty. Super size images of the natural ingredients used in all Korres stores around the world, for the first time take over floor-to-ceiling golden mirrors, perfectly complemented by the vast white flooring and side-wall.

Once inside the store every Korres fan can instantly pick up the brand's iconic elements, while also being pleasantly surprised by the innovative forms of expression. The outcome is a tribute to the brand's trademark aesthetics based on contrasts; industrial yet luxurious, minimal yet maximal, practical yet of high gallery-like aesthetics; contrasts are also be extended to materials, through combinations of wood and metal, golden shiny surfaces and oversize prints.

"I consider myself a pharmacist, not a businessman; and Korres in my eyes - and despite being available in over 30 markets - is still a tiny Greek brand" says the founder George Korres, "Every time we enter a new market, I feel as honoured, proud and excited as the first time the Korres products traveled abroad. Coming to Dubai, feels extremely special because the city's phenomal growth somehow reminds me of how our own brand has evolved in its 12 year history".

Korres has a vast celebrity following, stars like Scarlett Johansson, Rihanna, Drew Barrymore, Kylie Minogue, Charlize Theron, Cameron Diaz, and David Beckham amongst others.

The first ever skincare product was the Wild Rose 24-hour cream - still a best-seller all over the world. Today the Korres portfolio includes over 500 products, featuring a complete skin, body

and hair care range, make-up, a sun care line as well as herbal preparations and nutraceutical products.  All products are developed based on four groups of natural ingredients: herbs with pharmaceutical properties, Greek flora herbs, food ingredients and high-efficacy natural ingredients. The use of specific synthetic compounds such as petroleum

derivatives, silicones, propylene glycol, ethanolamines and ammonia amongst others, is avoided and replaced with equally effective, beneficial and skin friendly natural ingredients.

Korres today counts three flagship stores - London, Beijing and New York Soho along with 26 other stores in the cities of Athens, Paris, Madrid, Beijing, Istanbul, Shanghai, Helsinki, Frankfurt, Barcelona, Vienna and Genève amongst others.

The brand's core values remain the same as in its pharmacy days - the use of herbs and natural ingredients of the highest quality; skin and environmentally friendly products with clinically tested effectiveness; affordable for every day use yet of high-aesthetics with strong artistic direction.

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About Al Tayer Trends
Al Tayer Trends is an Al Tayer Group company building new frontiers in lifestyle retail across the Middle East. It operates over 70 stores in Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the UAE. Among the brands comprising its portfolio are Areej, Missha, Gap, Banana Republic, Mamas & Papas, Textura, @home, Cosi, and Galler. The company currently employs almost 1000 people.

Al Tayer Group is a diversified regional business established in 1979 with its headquarters in Dubai, UAE. Since its inception, the Group has grown rapidly and currently operates in 12 countries in the Middle-East and beyond. It has built leading operations in multiple sectors, including automotive, contracting, distribution, publishing, retail, and services.

For more information, please visit www.altayer.com

About Korres
Korres natural products is a Greek company with roots in the first Homeopathic Pharmacy of Athens. The first Korres product was an aromatic herbal syrup with honey and aniseed, a recipe inspired by "rakomelon", a warming spirit-with-honey concoction, which George Korres' grandfather used to favour in his hometown on the island of Naxos. Set up in 1996 with the aim to utilize its extensive scientific resources for the creation of beneficial and safe products, the company today offers a complete skin and hair care range, sun care products and herbal preparations.

© Press Release 2009