Dubai Design District welcomes Chalhoub Group as a flagship tenant partner

Chalhoub’s move to d3 will help inspire emerging talent and encourage new innovative retail concepts

Dubai, UAE: Dubai Design District (d3) is pleased to announce that Chalhoub Group, one of the region’s leading partners for luxury, fashion and beauty brands, will be relocating its head office operations to d3, by taking two buildings at the site.

With a growing workforce of 11,000 employees spread across 14 countries, the Chalhoub Group operates around 600 retail stores for its own retail brands such as Wojooh, Tanagra and Level; and it acts as a franchise partner for global brands including Louis Vuitton, Sephora, Fendi, Michael Kors, Lacoste and CH.

The move to d3 represents a significant commitment from Chalhoub, and it supports d3’s vision to create a sustainable, innovative and thriving ecosystem for the region’s design industry, where creative talent can live, work and play. By becoming part of d3’s community from the outset, Chalhoub will be bringing with it 60 years of retail and luxury experience, which emerging talent and other visitors to the pioneering creative community can learn from and be inspired to establish their own business concepts.

The UAE is an established global retail hub, expected to be valued at over AED 120 billion in 2014, according to the research firm Euromonitor. The Emirate already has a particular strength in the luxury segment, but experts suggest there is increasing demand for innovative, best in class, and unique retail concepts as the consumer’s spending power grows, along with the region’s population and local tourist numbers. These trends position d3 perfectly as a unique retailing destination and as a breeding ground for creative innovation, making the announcement that Chalhoub will be joining the community even more significant.

According to research undertaken by Bain, a leading research company, the global fashion market is growing at 10% over the last seven years with the Middle East featuring in the top 10 worldwide ranking with a market value worth €5.6B in 2012. Within that, the UAE is the largest fashion market in the Middle East representing 50% of the total market and Dubai, with its mix of high-end international retailers, commanding about 30% of the entire regional luxury goods market.

Dr Amina Al Rustamani, Group CEO of TECOM Investments, the master developer behind d3, said: “We are delighted to welcome the leading and pioneer retail “Chalhoub Group” to d3. Chalhoub is hugely experienced in driving the fashion and design industry forward, and has made a significant contribution towards achieving Dubai’s vision of becoming the global hub for retail as well as creative businesses and talent.

“With extensive investments in the design sector across the region, Chalhoub’s presence at d3 will strengthen the community, offering inspiration for emerging talent and encouraging the creation of new business concepts in line with Dubai’s growing retail opportunity.

“We are honoured to have such a fantastic array of design and fashion brands, creative talents and entrepreneurs joining d3. They are signing up to be part of a living, breathing and thriving design ecosystem, and they are actively helping to propel Dubai’s global position as a hub for design, innovation and creativity.”

Patrick Chalhoub, Co-CEO of Chalhoub Group said: “We are excited that the Chalhoub Group will become part of the d3 story from its very beginning. We chose d3 because of its commitment to creating a truly integrated design community in Dubai, which will be home to innovative brands and creative talents.

“As a market leader with extensive regional expertise in the promotion of luxury and retail across the Middle East, we look forward to growing with d3 and nurturing emerging regional talent so that it can shine on an international scale. We are excited about playing a role in driving the Emirate’s ambition to be a global centre for design and innovation.”