French luxury goods major Cartier will open seven to ten boutiques annually, including in the Middle East to have 250 boutiques in three years. Plans are under way to open a liaison office in India.

In the Middle East, Cartier plans to enter Saudi Arabia and Kuwait by end of this year and Lebanon, Qatar, Syria, Jordan, Cyprus, Turkey and Egypt in the next three years, Jean-Alain Brenac, international director for Cartier International, said yesterday.

Cartier's streetside boutique in Abu Dhabi was yesterday opened by Sheikh Suroor bin Mohammed Al Nahyan, chief of the Presidential Court. Al Manara Jewellery is the franchisee in Abu Dhabi. Cartier officials declined to name the local sponsors for their two boutiques in Dubai at the Emirates Towers and Burjuman Centre.

Cartier announced Dubai as its regional hub in September 2000 after setting up its 100 per cent owned operations at the Dubai Airport Free Zone. Earlier, Cartier had terminated its partnership with International Business Group (IBG).

"We have strong support from the Dubai government," said an official. As part of its new growth strategy, Cartier just opened shop in China and is planning to set up a liaison office in Mumbai, India. Currently, the Indian operations are controlled by Cartier's subsidiary from Hong Kong.

Meanwhile, Brenac said Cartier has been clocking a growth rate of 30-40 per cent from its business operations worldwide, although the Middle East sales account for a small part of the total. "Middle East customers, however, purchase Cartier products from overseas and while travelling," he said.

Apart from opening its own outlets in the region, Cartier will also distribute products through external partners, he added.