Apparel Online India Issue 1-15 March '18 | Page 33

FASHION BUSINESS
THE SUCCESS
F O R M U L A O F R E TA I L
IN THE MIDDLE EAST
There are no two opinions regarding the power of Middle East’s fashion consumer.
Global travel and social media has made them hyper-aware of global trends in
the far flung corners of the world.
B
as Dolce and Gabbana, Burberry,
Nike, and Uniqlo have introduced
exclusive Modest Fashion ranges.
There has also been a spike in
Muslim designers at International
Fashion Weeks, and all this when
put together, signals the dawn
of a new era in fashion which is
set to challenge the conventional
norms set by society over ages of
oppression, and signals the advent
of modest dressing.
ut beyond that it is a group of
people who treat leisure spending
as an integral part of their culture and
thus, their retail spots and shopping
complexes are a marvellous place of
social gatherings in itself. The joy of
experiencing retail in the Middle East
can teach a lot to the West where brick
and mortar is going through a major
period of renaissance.
To find out the recipe behind this
luxury retail success, Apparel Online
chats with buyers from some of the
biggest stores in the region on how
they entice shoppers to make big
pocket in-store purchases.
While it is easy to club all the Middle
Eastern countries together as a group,
there are several differences. Though
it is hard to demarcate an atypical
aesthetic, the Arab people are all
manically fast in adopting the latest
fads and fashion trends.
“What you see in Italy, you see in
Lebanon. Maybe even faster than you
can imagine. Everyone is a dedicated
follower of fashion,” shares Wissam
Shamy of AÏSHTI, a Lebanese luxury
department store chain.
While modest fashion is a norm
with most of them, they do not just
indulge in conservative clothes like
the mainstream media will have
you believe… Gone are the days of
long, loose robes decked in hand
embroidery. Women in Lebanon love
The current retail climate and
shopping experience is fundamental
to the lifestyle and spending habits
in the Middle Eastern market which
enjoys a greater rate of disposable
income. In such a scenario, the
touch and feel of a product has
become vital, giving rise to many
multi-brand fashion retailers as well
as individual designer stores.
Changes are also afoot to garner
international recognition towards
home-grown designers, in order to
promote the design talent prevalent
in these countries.
Observing the success enjoyed
by designers such as Elie Saab,
Zuhair Murad and Rami Al Ali,
who initiated their careers from
the Middle East, there has been a
growing emphasis on nurturing
and developing younger designers,
which Middle Eastern retailers
have been taking an active interest
in developing.
Lebanon-based luxury retailer AÏSHTI's sea-facing store is the biggest in the country
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