Franklin & Marshall sees growth potential in Gulf

Dubai: There is no let-up in global fashion brands taking the well-trodden path to a prominent mall location in the Gulf. If at all, the pace has only quickened in recent weeks.

Franklin & Marshall, an American brand offering fashion lines that will not make you look out of place on college campuses, has certainly been keeping busy. After opening its first regional location in Kuwait last November, it has moved on to Dubai through a store in Mirdif City Centre. Another one beckons in May, this time at the Dubai Mall.

Multi Trend International (MTI), part of the Kuwait-based Al Homaizi Group, has facilitated the entry of the brand, which prices its merchandise in the mid- to upper-mid category — average price being around Dh350 — and gets it made in Italy.

In other words, the collections are not mass-produced in a Chinese factory, a point that a top official is quick to emphasise.

Time will tell how good a fit the F&M label is within the wider offerings of MTI, which also retails jeans (Joe's) and motherwear (Destination Maternity) brands. But the early indicators are quite encouraging.

"Right from day one, it was well above our expectations and the good thing in Kuwait was that it did sustain the performance," said Maen Merheby, retail director at MTI, which was formed in 2005. "We had to replenish the stocks more than once, which was not something we had planned so early into the launch.

Expansion plans

"We don't see F&M as taking time finding its consumers, not in these markets where the young make up more than 50 per cent of the population."

While it holds the Gulf-wide rights for the brand, MTI plans to broach the subject of adding the rights to Lebanon, Jordan and Egypt at the earliest. But the coming weeks will be just as busy.

"Between now and the end of the second quarter, we will have the Dubai locations open and make progress in Qatar," said Merheby. "After that it will be time to take up the expansion plans for Saudi Arabia, which currently does not have many options for branded casual-wear. That's why we see F&M, with 65 per cent of its range being men's wear, as being just right for that market.

"The timing of the store openings is entirely based on when they are made available for us. At the same time we are selective with the locations, which is the right strategy with a brand such as F&M.

While it works on padding up the store network for its franchises, Multi Trend International is coming out with something of its own.

"We have just introduced a family department store - My Buy - in Dubai (near Burjuman) based on our own concepts," said Maen Merheby. "We are going to have a proper introduction in mid-February.

"The reason for this venture is that we feel a certain lack of value for money products in the GCC. The majority of the merchandise is from Europe and are of the standards and quality that you would expect from that sourcing market.

"We have huge plans for My Buy with a Gulf-wide footprint."

Value for money

Multi Trend International has introduced a family department store — My Buy — in Dubai (near BurJuman) "based on our own concepts," said retail director Maen Merheby. "We are going to have a proper introduction in mid-February. "The reason for this venture is that we feel a certain lack of value-for-money products in the GCC. The majority of the merchandise is from Europe and are of the standards and quality that you would expect from that sourcing market.

"We have huge plans for My Buy with a Gulfwide footprint."