21 February 2017
By Joe Koraith

Qataris’ appetite for luxury jewellery and watches continue unchanged despite some challenges during 2016, Blue Salon vice chairman Nabil AR Abu Issa has said.

“The shopping habits of Qatari customers do not change much, they continue buying,” Abu Issa told Gulf Times on the sidelines of opening of the 14th Doha Jewellery and Watches Exhibition (DJWE) yesterday.

The six-day event, taking place at the Doha Exhibition and Convention Centre until February 25, has seen a growing number of exhibitors and visitors annually.

Abu Issa said Qataris are also knowledgeable and familiar with such luxury brands and collections, besides having a high level of taste and attention to details.

“We are lucky to be here, the support of the government and HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani makes Qatar’s economy a lot better,” he stressed.

Abu Issa also lauded Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA) for its efforts to diversify the country’s economy and in attracting more visitors from different countries.

“DJWE is the best exhibition in the Middle East, people who come from abroad will tell you it is a world class event,” he said.

“We have been participating in this exhibition since the beginning and it is getting bigger and bigger,” he stressed.

“The way we choose our brands, we try to choose different brands that do not conflict with each other to cover all tastes also.”

Blue Salon added five new brands between watches and jewellery in this year’s DJWE, including French and German brands, according to Abu Issa.

He said QTA’s support to their early campaign this year helped a lot in promotion efforts, covering the UAE, Saudi Arabia, especially Jeddah and Riyadh, in addition to Bahrain and Kuwait.

“It is a good campaign. We hope more people from neighbouring countries will come,” he added.

About the growing competition, Abu Issa pointed out that “it has always been there, as long as it is healthy, it will benefit competitors by improving themselves.”

© Gulf Times 2017