Dubai: Predominantly favoured by Arabs until now, Rasasi Perfumes want more than a whiff of another demographic — the Western buyer — patronising its fragrances. This will see the company gradually add to its Occidental range and the emphasis reinforced by having a new look for its retail locations.
Two of the first Rasasi outlets to acquire the new look have already been unveiled, in Abu Dhabi and Sharjah respectively, with more to follow. The brand operates 110 owned stores in the region.
The change in emphasis to tap into a newer demographic comes after extensive market research, the first conducted by The Nielsen Co two years ago and the other more recently by GfK.
Bigger breakthrough
"It was felt that in terms of brand awareness we had more or less reached the threshold with our primary consumer demographic, which are the Arabs," said Salim Kalsekar, managing director.
"While we had a growing clientele of Asian consumers, the bigger breakthrough would be to get to the Western shopper, and that includes the tourists. "The new store look and format is intended to help us attain that breakthrough."
In customer trials that were held prior to the launch, Rasasi's Occidental line-up did win favourable reviews in relation to the international brands that populate this space. Also noted during the trials was the price differential between the brands and Rasasi's, said Kalsekar.
As it is, among visitors to Dubai, fragrances —from global names as well as those of local origin — remain among the most popular purchases. For the global brands in particular, their local retail prices are favourable compared to what they command in the UK or elsewhere in Europe.
Major expansion
Even as Rasasi starts working on the customer-facing part of the operations, a major expansion has just been effected on the manufacturing side. An additional 5,000 square metres has been created in Jebel Ali and new machinery brought in for its Occidental fragrance and deodorant lines.
It also adds to an earlier 11,000 square metres brought on line last year. Investments totalled Dh100 million, including on working capital requirements.
Expected to go operational shortly, it will also create in-house bottling and packaging capacity, thus helping the company to better control its costs as well.
The company will continue to maintain the existing 16,000 plus square metre facility, which will take care of its Oriental range.
All of the additions will now leave Rasasi an installed capacity for 12 million bottles of perfumes a year and 13 million bottles for the deodorant range.
Rasasi Perfumes has more than 150 fragrances within its Oriental line-up and over 100 under Occidental.
