Dubai: Al Anood Al Roumi and Sara Al Rumaithi met two years ago at work. During that time they realised that they have many things in common, and the most important of all was their passion for fashion.
They seriously studied the possibility of jointly launching their own fashion house.
"We cannot forget when we designed our first collection and saw the happiness on the face of our customers who told us that ‘I never thought it would look that good on me'. It only then we realised that we were climbing the ladder of success and we have to move on to offer the best we could," the young Emirati entrepreneurs told Gulf News.
The plan to start their own fashion house came about during one of their brainstorming sessions. "We first planned to showcase our collection at renowned fashion stores such as Saks Fifth Avenue and Harvey Nichols in Dubai. However, during our brainstorming sessions, we realised that we were both eager to start our own store in Dubai. And decided to launch Qiana?" the 26-year-old entrepreneurs said.
Qualifications
Al Rumaithi holds a bachelors degree in Information Management from Higher Colleges of Technology (HCT). She later got a Masters in Project Management from the UK. She is also a part of the UAE Women's Leadership programme. She loves art, high-end fashion and interior designing.
Al Roumi has completed a diploma in Marketing from HCT. She loves fashion, make-up and adores high-end artistic stuff.
"Qiana Fashion Boutique has many sections and includes various brands of abayas, branded handbags, casual wear, Indian, Moroccan and UK products, Klaus Kobec diamond watches, Harrods perfumes and make-up and accessories," the duo said.
About the name Qiana, Sara said, "It is a silky, nylon fibre first developed by DuPont in 1968 and initially intended for high-end fashion. In Arabic it means our souls."
On why they chose multi brands, they said: "It's successful and we wanted to learn it and be the leaders in our region. We funded the business with the financial support from our fathers."
The boutique stocks many top labels. "We have many leading brands such as Chanel, Hermes, Louis Vuitton, Fendi, Gucci, Marc Jacobs, Burberry, Shu Uemura, Tom Ford, Trish McEvoy, Nasomatto, and many more… and we import them from Europe, mostly London, and also some from US," they said.
Defining elegance, Al Rumaithi said: "Elegance is when you talk, walk, and look like a star but with simplicity."
The the type of clientele the boutique attracts she said: "Our customers are elegant and stylish VIP women ranging from the ages of 15 to 50.
"We keep our customers aware of the season's colours and styles as each trends change according to seasons. But classical colours such as gold, silver and black works to satisfy all tastes," Al Rumaithi said.
About the most popular brand in their boutique, Al Rumaithi said: "To tell you the truth, all the brands have a huge demand but that is due to the authenticity of the brand."
The young partners are considering expanding their business to Abu Dhabi. "Indeed we are doing that, but after Abu Dhabi we would like to set up a permanent base just like international fashion houses, but we haven't decided on the location yet."
In terms of their upcoming plans, they said: "We have plans to introduce loyalty cards with 10 per cent discount for our regular customers, BlackBerry services and Dh500 gift vouchers."
Asked about their favourite brand, they said, "We love Coco Chanel. What we love about the fashion icon is that the look she brilliantly created is timeless and we call it ‘the safe choice'."
The duo would like to inspire and advice other Emirati women interested in setting up their own business but are hesitant. They said: "We want to tell them to go ahead. You don't have to be scared of starting a business if you plan well, get proper advise and manage it well. Our country is amazing and we have to show people how good we are in different fields. "
Contact
To find out more contact Qiana Fashion Boutique on 04-2886855 or Blackberry pin number 225bffad.
