Gulf market for menswear grows rapidly

The Gulf's formal menswear market is an estimated Dh70 million and is growing rapidly, said a senior industry official.

With a series of festivals currently pulling millions of visitors to the Gulf, global brand-owners are looking at the market from a fresh perspective for growth.

Several new brands, including British men's designer -wear major John Gladstone is making foray into the local market through Sharjah-based Kreol Trading, a company which has diverse interest in organised retailing, including duty free operations in India.

This is the company's first venture in garment retailing, which last year received the prestigious Frontier Awards at Cannes for the best partnership initiative for their Travel Retail operation at Cochin Interna-tional Airport.

"Our brand John Gladstone was created with a vision to meet the preferences of those who wanted to be preferred, to meet the requirements of those who consider that elegance and comfort lie in carrying themselves around in our apparel," said A.S. Lal, chief executive of Kreol.

"We are joining hands with the global leaders in brand creation, Uniworth International — UK, a front-ranking player in the industry with a global presence in the fabric and apparel world.

Uniworth has long experience of successful operations in Europe, U.S. and Asia markets. They are the world's second largest spinner of worsted yarns and exporter and producer of woollen fabrics and apparels. Uniworth Group has an $200 million turnover.

"John Gladstone is an upmarket product, and we will make it available to the consumers at an affordable price. We already have earmarked Dh200,000 for marketing and promoting the products through 35 Lulu outlets throughout the GCC.

"In the local market, a good number of fakes are sold at premium prices. However, we are bringing an authentic brand with affordable price that customers would be comfortable with."

He said, state-of-the-art machinery and world class trims, buttons, pads, linings, and fabrics are specially chosen to create this classy brand. Suits are made in latest and prevalent designs in superfine wool and polywool.

Suits are made by specially selected fabrics to meet the climatic conditions. We have done a market survey to identify the potential customers and their likes and dislikes.

Suits will be sold through Lulu Hypermarket, Al Falah Plaza and Emirates General Market in UAE, Muscat, Kuwait and Qatar.

"Once we complete the dealers networking in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, we expect a Dh10 million turnover and a 20 per cent annual growth," lal added.