Vilebrequin, the French
swimwear firm, plans to triple its sales in the GCC by 2014 as it
expands the brand in the region, its managing director has told Arabian
Business.
The company will open
a new store in both Kuwait and Jeddah by the end of 2012 as part of an expansion that
will see it increase from five to 16-17 shops in the region by 2014, said Marc
Pirinoli.
“We have five stores and at
the end of 2012 it will be seven stores. The next opening will be in Kuwait and
the following will probably be Jeddah. We are also on standby for Dubai Mall,”
he said.
“In 2012 we’ll have seven
stores but in 2014 probably we will be around 16-17 shops plus corners and
hotels… easily we are going to triple the business,” he said.
Vilebrequin, which operates
via a franchise agreement with Dubai-based Chalhoub Group in the GCC, said sales
at its Atlantis Hotel store topped US$1.2m last year, making it one of its most
profitable retail outlets after Hong Kong.
“The phenomenal one is the
space we have at Atlantis Hotel, the numbers are extremely incredible. At
Atlantis it closed the year very close to US$1.2m [in sales] so per sq m is close
to US$54,000 per sqm. [Sales at] Souk Madinat is extremely high too,” said
Pirinoli.
Vilebrequin, famous for its
matching father and son swimming trunks, was founded in Saint Tropez in 1971.
The brand, which specialises in colourful print swimwear with a
waterproof wallet, is a favourite with celebrities Jude Law, Brad Pitt and
George Clooney.
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