European cosmetics firm, Rituals, is planning to have up to a 100 stores in the Gulf region in the next five years or so, said its CEO Raymond Cloosterman.
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Read the full story here: https://bit.ly/3n0SJyk
See more videos at https://gulfnews.com/videos
Read more Gulf News stories here: https://bit.ly/2HLJ2km
Subscribe to Gulf News on YouTube and watch more of our videos: https://www.youtube.com/user/GulfNewsTV
See more videos at https://gulfnews.com/videos
Read more Gulf News stories here: https://bit.ly/2HLJ2km
#UAEnews #Dubai #shopping
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NewsTranscript
00:00We believe really strongly in the combination.
00:02We believe in stores, even in this time where everybody is talking about digital.
00:07We're going to open 100 new stores next year.
00:12The next region we're in, outside Europe, is the Middle East.
00:15And we started five years ago.
00:17People from the region here visiting our stores in London and Paris.
00:20And they fell in love with the products.
00:22And that's why we decided to start here with the apparel group.
00:26And that has been a very strong start.
00:30So strong that we now also start to, here in Dubai Mall, on locations like this.
00:37Which is really, I would say, a milestone, making a statement.
00:43And we do that because we want to grow the brand over the next five years in the region.
00:49The difference between UAE and the rest of the world, or Europe, is not that big.
00:55I think what's stronger here than in Europe is all the products for the houses.
00:59So the luxury candles, the luxury fragrance sticks, room spray.
01:02So a lot of things for, you look around, so many beautiful apartments, big houses.
01:10A lot of people live indoors.
01:12So you want to, I mean, pamper yourself in your house, in a way.
01:16And therefore, these kind of products are relatively stronger than over there.
01:20But the best sellers here are the same as the best sellers in Europe.
01:22This year is a very strange year and very unpredictable year.
01:27This is a year where we celebrate our 20th anniversary.
01:30We started 20 years ago at one store in Amsterdam.
01:34And this year will be a record year again.
01:38It could have been much better.
01:40I think we could have grown even 20% more.
01:44But forgetting that and just looking at the facts,
01:47then we're very happy and very grateful for the fact that we, even in a year of COVID,
01:52we've been able to grow the company.
01:54We've been able to open 40 new stores.
01:56We've been able to open the House of Rituals.
01:59It's a huge department store kind of thing.
02:02And the holiday season has been good for us, but very different.
02:08If I can speak for the business as a total, the digital component has been very important.
02:15Many stores have been closed during the holiday season.
02:18As we speak, they're closed in Germany, in Holland.
02:20They have been closed in France and UK, Ireland.
02:25All these markets were closed.
02:26So in a way, we had to reinvent our company this year.
02:30So COVID is a very sad thing happening to us.
02:34But I think as a company, we've used it to really strengthen the core of our business
02:40by reinventing ourselves, making the company more digitally driven.
02:46And we are strong believers of stores as the place where you discover a brand,
02:51where you can discover the brand in all its dimensions.
02:55But the digital component is crucial for servicing the same customer in a different need.
03:02What we have done, we've created all kinds of new services this year.
03:06So what is new is that we have a completely robotized B2C warehouse, which is incredible,
03:15which can do 30,000 orders a day, all being picked by the computer and robot.
03:21And it's very impressive to see.
03:25But we also invested in new kind of setups.
03:29So one of them is ship from store.
03:32So to increase capacity, we now can send an order, an internet order,
03:37directly to a store in the neighborhood where you live.
03:40Then we pack it in store.
03:42They write a little heart on the bag with love from the so-and-so store.
03:46And the team brings it to your home.
03:48So within an hour, you have your stuff.
03:51So this was not there before COVID. We had to reinvent.
03:54In the Middle East, we are now getting online and we see more and more traction as well for the brand.
04:00And it goes very quick. It's growing very fast.
04:03So we're making rituals.com available in the different parts of the region.
04:07If you from a business perspective, our online and offline approach are the same.
04:12So offline, we have our standalone stores, 850,
04:16but we also have about 3,000 doors with luxury in the luxury department stores of the world
04:21and the luxury perfumery stores.
04:24Online, we do the same. We have our own store, rituals.com, if you like,
04:29but we also have our partnerships with Sephora.com, Douglas.com,
04:36the luxury department stores, Lafayette.com.
04:41And we also have our relationship with the pure players.
04:44So the big ones, Zalando, Amazon.
04:48We believe really strongly in the combination.
04:50We believe in stores, even in this time where everybody's talking about digital.
04:55We're going to open 100 new stores next year.
04:58For the next 10 years, we need stores as a way to escape from your computer
05:03and from your little office place.
05:05You want to experience the products in a real environment
05:09and you need the online community as well.