UAE retail giant Al Tayer Group is not interested in buying stakes in international fashion brands and is instead focused on developing partnerships with luxury labels and managing their introduction to the Gulf, a senior executive said.
Qatar’s investment bodies have bought stakes in Italian fashion label Valentino, French luxury goods giant LVMH (Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy), Tiffany and Co. and UK accessories brand Anya Hindmarch.
However, Khalid Al Tayer, chief executive officer of the retail business of the UAE conglomerate, says this is not a route the group is interested in pursing.
“We are operators… we have not taken an investor philosophy. We have really created a platform for that and we are always honoured and delighted to work with great partners like Zegna to make sure the customer has a great experience,” he said in an interview with Arabian Business this week.
Established in 1979, with its headquarters in Dubai, the Al Tayer Group’s retail division operates over 200 stores across the six Gulf countries and manages a stable of 35 luxury brands, including Alexander McQueen, Boucheron, Bottega Veneta, Dolce & Gabbana, Emilio Pucci, Giorgio Armani and Jimmy Choo. It is also responsible for opening and operating the largest Harvey Nichols department store outside the United Kingdom as well as the first Bloomingdale’s stores outside the United States, with Macy’s set to be introduced to the region in Abu Dhabi in 2018.
This week marked the addition of another brand to its growing portfolio, luxury menswear label Ermenegildo Zegna.
The Italian brand, which celebrated its 100 anniversary in 2010, currently operates 525 stores worldwide, of which 298 are directly owned, and has points of sale in department stores such as Harvey Nichols, Bloomingdale’s and Galeries Lafayette, but Zegna admits its direct sales in the UAE are small.
As part of its global expansion it has signed a joint venture with Al Tayer Group for the operation of Ermenegildo Zegna boutiques and other points of sale across the UAE.
“The joint venture with Al Tayer is part of a long term strategy to go directly to markets like this. We started in Brazil, we did it in China, we created a joint venture in India, in Vietnam and these are some of the top countries. We felt in the plan Dubai was a key market,” said Zegna.
The label opened its first UAE boutique in 2012 at Etihad Towers, Al Ras Al Akhdar District, and followed it up with a second at The Galleria in Sowwah Square, Al Maryah Island, a year later. To celebrate the Al Tayer Group partnership, it has just opened a flagship 354 metre luxury retail space in Mall of the Emirates and is planning to open another outlet in The Dubai Mall by 2017.
The new Mall of the Emirates store includes the Ermenegildo Zegna Couture collection by Stefano Pilati and is hosted in the exclusive Couture Room designed by architect Peter Marino and based on the flagship store in Milan. This bespoke room is an important part of the DNA of the store and one which Zegna said has proved popular.
“The one thing I can tell you is the buy now attitude is very important here. They don’t go by the season. The other part I see is the personalised part of the project is the part which has seen the quickest to gain positive feedback.”
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