Chalhoub Group operates with 15 luxury brands and 62 retail stores across Kuwait alone, and is present across UAE, KSA, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Jordan, Lebanon, India, Egypt, and Latin America. We interviewed Elie Antoun of Chalhoub Group in Kuwait to find out what happened to the luxury market during the pandemic, and what he thinks its future will be.
What is your experience of the luxury retail environment in the Middle East at the moment?
Post-pandemic the market is changing and it is all centric towards the customer. All our actions and business plans are focused towards satisfying our customers, how we delight and exhilarate them in our service and in our offers, be it online or be it brick and mortar.
The customer is still interested in a special experience in the brick and mortar market, and this is why Chalhoub Group is still investing with the right brands, the right locations in the right malls to provide our customers with the right experience. In parallel, we are also aggressively building on our online engagement with our customers, providing them with a complimentary experience that they need and they ask for.
Some consumer insights that were collected in 2021 December: 72% Consider shopping to be a treat. So customers are looking for ways to reward themselves, to give themselves a treat after they passed through the pandemic. So, this treat could be either online or brick and mortar or combined, we can see especially in Kuwait, the affinity of customers to visit the malls.
Are you noticing any emerging trends among your customers in Kuwait and how they buy?
So in Kuwait in specific the online business is growing yet there is a clear affinity of customers to visit the brick and mortar and have this personal interaction with our great people on the floor, and our great products – to touch them, to feel them, to try them etc.
The Kuwaiti customer is intelligent, critical and price sensitive as well, and they have a taste of luxury with their high purchasing power. Kuwait encountered in 2021 a very good business improvement in terms of sales.
50% say that in the next three months, they will be spending more on luxury fashion than pre COVID. And I think from a positive perspective, customers are taking a delightful revenge when they go to the market and shop. Usually they travel and they shop across Europe, Asia, etc. With the limitations of travel and with the offer that we have in Kuwait.
We sensed in 2021 that more loyalty is built between our customers and our brands, between our customers and our people on the floor, between our customers and our stores, between our customers and our online offers. And the most important thing is that as a business, from a people perspective, we were ready for it. We have been ready for it. Our people on the floor are trained and so enthusiastic to build loyalty with the customers.
They act as the salesperson not only in the brick and mortar, but also online connecting through WhatsApp, connecting through all our social media platforms. This played a very important role in building loyalty and providing exceptional inspiring experiences.
Do you have any specific examples of brands that have proved particularly popular for the customer throughout the pandemic?
Yes. We have Tanagra and Tanagra is a very good example. During the pandemic Tanagra grew in sales with a clear double digit growth, not because of the brick and mortar but mainly from that clienteling from online.
And when the malls opened again, we were astonished how our customers were deeply involved with our new offers that we promoted to them either by clienteling, meaning WhatsApp direct with our salespeople, or through our online platform.
They were coming and asking for specific products that were promoted online, to check them on floor and buy them on floor or vice versa. They were buying with trust, they trusted our people, they trusted our products, and most important, they trusted the Chalhoub group.
Another important factor is the homeware category. Hospitality has always been very sensitive and very important in this region. Luxury is not only fashion and beauty, but it’s also homeware.
Post-pandemic, because most of the people were spending most of their time at home, they try to create this luxury not only by their dress, perfume or make up, but they are creating luxurious surroundings, and Tanagra was there for them.
Post-pandemic, what will stick and what will we lose when it comes to our luxury shopping experience?
There are many factors that will be affecting the post pandemic trend. The personal luxury goods market could recover pre covid levels according to two scenarios.
Either a full rebound in 2021 or a paced recovery in 2022. And it will depend on key focus factors such as common trends, tourism recovery consumer, confidence at a global and regional level. There is nothing that is certain.
Nowadays, we are passing through an environment of uncertainty and we have to respond mainly to come to the consumer trends as their main focus, planning without taking the consumer as the center of our plan is a waste of time. I think it’s very important to keep on our radar the fashion trends that will emerge now in 2022.
Whether it’s Kuwait, UAE, Qatar, Saudi, any market will all be concerned by all the conversations happening around the metaverse, that is a very important topic for the year when it comes to shopping. And definitely social commerce that is rising more and more in the region, and how we can benefit from it as a retailer.
And the third topic that is trending now is circular fashion, linked to the circular economy and the bigger sustainability agenda. So on a group level, we are very keen to make sure that we are catering to the power consumer, when we know about any topics emerging or any trend emerging.
For more information visit chalhoubgroup.com.