UAE perfumer expects more than a whiff at Harrods

Dubai: As far as branding goes, being sold at Harrods comes with its many advantages. And that’s just what the UAE-based perfume maker Nabeel hopes to achieve with its ‘Spirit of Dubai’ collection.

“By end January, we should be in-store and that will be the platform for us to take oriental fragrances right into the heart of the European marketplace,” said Mustafa Adam Ali, managing director of Nabeel Perfumes Group. “I think the time has come where oriental themes can be sold not just to the Arab diaspora but Western consumers as well. There’s already such a huge awareness of Dubai itself as the place to go or to be in.

“Typically, UAE and Gulf perfumers have focused on growth within the region, the subcontinent and the Far East. But a Western presence does offer many possibilities. We already have a distribution base in the US, but London is where the true action is.

“The Harrods exposure — which took us a month of negotiations to finalise — will give ‘Spirit of Dubai’ the branding cachet that it deserves.”

Indeed, it is a given that the fragrances will carry a steep enough price tag, which is well in keeping with Harrods’ ambience. A bottle will set a shopper back by Dh1,200 and the top-of-the-line sells at a steep Dh5,000-Dh6,000 a pop.

Nabeel has more plans with the ‘Spirit of Dubai’ name, for which it has won the rights from the UAE Ministry of Economy’s Trademarks Department for a 10-year period ending 2024. (The trademark period can be extended thereafter.)

The name could be used to get into high-end leather and lifestyle accessories at some point, which will be done through third-party contracting. “Brand extensions, especially in luxury, always need to be handled with a lot of thought,” said Ali. “Our capabilities are limited to fragrances — it will be extremely difficult to build a similar strength in lines such as fine leather. It’s best to do it via third-party vendors.”

But well before that, the company — which has two plants in Sharjah — intends to set up its own store in Central London. “Again, that’s where we stand the best chance of making our name and products seen by the cosmopolitan consumers who either live there or are on a visit,” said Ali. “We are negotiating the lease terms for the location... opening the location by mid next year is doable. Thereafter, we hope to continue the expansion via franchising.”

If all goes to plan, a growing overseas presence and an expanding product line-up should be enough to push Nabeel’s turnover to $400 million (Dh1.4 billion) in the near term from the current $150 million. Exports, including sales within the other Gulf markets, now account for 70 per cent of revenues.

Estimates of the size of the Middle East market for fragrances are pegged at around Dh1.8 billion, with Western blends being the dominant category.

“The fragrance business is such that there’s a lot of leeway on the price setting — we want to tap the mass market with our own Western blend,” said Ali. “The ‘Nuvo’ range will be priced at $1 for a 100ml bottle and should be released into the market within days. It’s our second Western brand after Chris Adams, where the prices tend to be around $5-$6 a 100ml bottle. I don’t think imported brands need to have it all their way in these markets.”