Style and substance
Impoverished journalists should never tell their better halves that they are interviewing both the general manager of Christian Louboutin and the head of perhaps the Middle East’s largest retail family. It leads to uncomfortably unrealistic expectations of free shoes, free handbags and free parties, followed by lengthy periods of recrimination, silence, and yet more recrimination. Sadly, the designer that holds the gentler half of the world’s population in the palm of his hand is not in the business of handing out his creations gratis, and with frenzied consumers paying out hand over fist for them, that’s probably an astute financial move.
Louboutin has chosen 2010 to be the year in which the number of stores he runs worldwide nearly doubles. From nineteen stores worldwide at the end of 2009, by December this year, Christian Louboutin will have opened 32 locations, including a joint venture in the notoriously tricky Japanese market. But Japan isn’t the only neighborhood where Louboutin is pushing its brand hard. The Middle East will make up over a third of the new stores opening this year, reflecting the still-increasing importance of the region as a luxury retail destination.
Louboutin store Al Khayat Mall, Jeddah
Louboutin opened one store in January at the Al Khayat Mall in Jeddah, with the second to come in Beirut in June. “There will be a third in Dubai’s Mall of the Emirates in September, and a last one in Riyadh in either November or December.
None of these locations are new territory for the redoubtable Chalhoub. Luxury retail runs in the blood of the Chalhoub family, which opened its first boutique in Damascus way back in 1955. Together with his brother and co-CEO Anthony, Patrick now presides over an empire of more than 371 stores and 60 companies, mixing own-brand expertise with a penchant for bringing some of the world’s most famed fashion houses to the region. But will all that be enough to make the Louboutin partnership a success in the teeth of a severe downturn in the retail sector?
Chalhoub is certainly bullish when it comes to the Dubai retail sector, which saw figures slewed dramatically by the opening of the gargantuan five million square feet Dubai Mall with another 1,200 stores.
The plan is to replicate the success story in other markets by ensuring that every store is a unique concept. “Everything comes from Christian’s mind, so it’s a bit different,” observes Mourot. “That’s the beauty of it. Christian feels the store and the region — he loves the Middle East and comes here quite a lot. So, for example, our Beirut store will have a different feel, a different spirit, a different environment to our locations in Saudi Arabia. This is why it’s so exciting.”
In emphasizing the unique, Mourot is also happy to point to the way in which the Christian Louboutin brand attempts to raise its profile.
“We don’t advertise — we never have,” the general manager shrugs. “We communicate far better via press editorial and through our website.” Part pop culture art, part blog from the man himself, it’s quite a skilled and disarming way of offering a highly personalized and controlled image of a designer that many consider to be an icon. After all, it’s not every man who wakes up to find 180 young ladies turn up to his studio to try out for a dancing audition, as Louboutin details merrily on his March blog.
After asking a question about pricing, and whether the products will be cheaper or more expensive in the Gulf than elsewhere, this journalist will admit to feeling a little foolish; after all, Louboutin customers aren’t necessarily the type to fret too highly about the price tag.
“We will not fight about pricing simply to be cheaper or to be more expensive,” Chalhoub explains. “When you speak about customers, the issue of price only comes up when the service or the choice is poor — it’s then that the price comes into play.”
So for legions of female Louboutin lovers in the Middle East, 2010 could be a bumper year and husbands can also look forward to a prolonged period of distress for their wallets.
Source: Arabian Business
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