Shoppers across the UAE are paying as much as 25 per cent more for major fashion brands than elsewhere in the world.
Despite lower rents, no added taxes and negligible customs duties in the Emirates, the country is more expensive for brands such as H&M and Zara than in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Italy and the United States.
Only the fashion chain Mango was consistently cheaper in the UAE than elsewhere, according to an analysis by The National and Caxton FX, a currency exchange based in London.
Shoppers said brands could charge more because consumer spending was notoriously higher in the Gulf than other parts of the world. "I'm always shocked at how expensive clothes are," said Lindsay Johnston, an avid shopper and Dubai resident.
"[Retailers] think they can charge more," she added. "Everything is more expensive. The majority of stuff I buy now is online."
A look at more than 20 items at Zara and H&M found that prices were as much as 25 per cent higher in the UAE than in other countries.
For example, a Zara shirt here costs Dh195 (US$53). But in the UK it is selling for Dh174, at current exchange rates.
A man's jacket from Zara is considerably cheaper in France, where it costs Dh112, compared with Dh150 in the UAE.
At H&M, a child's blouse is 25 per cent cheaper in the US, and 24 per cent cheaper in Italy than in the Emirates.
"It's not just a notion. If you compare clothing brands here and in Europe for instance, there is quite a change," said Mo Heathcote, a shopper in Dubai.
Some UAE residents said they now fly back to Europe or the US to do their fashion shopping in bulk to save money.
"So many of my friends will buy things online and have it delivered to their home [abroad]," said Ms Johnston. "Whenever we go home, we are excited about spending all our money. We save a significant amount of money that way."
Analysts are divided as to why prices might be higher in the UAE, with some indicating that for luxury goods, the prices are in fact lower in the UAE.
"Luxury items here are definitely cheaper than anywhere else in the Middle East and some places in Europe including the UK," said Sana Toukan, a research analyst at Euromonitor International, an information provider.
"This is precisely why there are so many tourists flocking into the country to pick up such items to the extent that big luxury retailers such as Dior or LV [Louis Vuitton] have certain items that are constantly out of stock due to being sold out."
All the major foreign fashion brands in the UAE work under a franchise structure or joint venture with a local partner.
H&M is operated by Alshaya, which declined to comment. Azadea operates Mango and also declined to comment.
Zara's pricing structure throughout the world is determined by its head office in Spain. "We can clarify that Zara's commercial positioning is exactly the same in all markets: offering our customers quality products with latest fashion trends at affordable prices," a Zara official said.
"We fix prices in each market taking into consideration different factors, local costs structure, operative costs, local fashion sector prices, but always keeping attractive prices for our customers."
Other retailers defended pricing policies in the Gulf, indicating that a number of different factors determined the prices of garments.
"The brand owner might see their brand as superior to brand X, Y, Z in that market so, therefore, the price position affects that," said John Wartig, the finance director at Al-Futtaim, which operates Ikea, Toys 'R' Us and Marks & Spencer in the UAE.
"That's the brand perspective, but there's the cost structure as well," he added. "You can't just use the exchange-rate transfer across because the underlying cost structure needs to be taken into account."
rjones@thenational.ae
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Japan 30-10 Russia
Tries: Matsushima (3), Labuschange | Golosnitsky
Conversions: Tamura, Matsuda | Kushnarev
Penalties: Tamura (2) | Kushnarev
The Florida Project
Director: Sean Baker
Starring: Bria Vinaite, Brooklynn Prince, Willem Dafoe
Four stars
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
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Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
More on Quran memorisation:
The Specs
Engine 3.8-litre, twin-turbo V8
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 582bhp (542bhp in GTS model)
Torque: 730Nm
Price: Dh649,000 (Dh549,000 for GTS)
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
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%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2.0-litre%20four-cyl%20turbo%20%2B%20mild%20hybrid%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E204hp%20at%205%2C800rpm%20%2B23hp%20hybrid%20boost%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E320Nm%20at%201%2C800rpm%20%2B205Nm%20hybrid%20boost%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E9-speed%20auto%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFuel%20consumption%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E7.3L%2F100km%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENovember%2FDecember%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFrom%20Dh205%2C000%20(estimate)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Racecard:
2.30pm: Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoun Emirates Breeders Society Challenge; Conditions (PA); Dh40,000; 1,600m
3pm: Handicap; Dh80,000; 1,800m
3.30pm: Jebel Ali Mile Prep Rated Conditions; Dh110,000; 1,600m
4pm: Handicap; Dh95,000; 1,950m
4.30pm: Maiden; Dh65,000; 1,400m
5pm: Handicap; Dh85,000; 1,200m
SHAITTAN
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Ziina users can donate to relief efforts in Beirut
Ziina users will be able to use the app to help relief efforts in Beirut, which has been left reeling after an August blast caused an estimated $15 billion in damage and left thousands homeless. Ziina has partnered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to raise money for the Lebanese capital, co-founder Faisal Toukan says. “As of October 1, the UNHCR has the first certified badge on Ziina and is automatically part of user's top friends' list during this campaign. Users can now donate any amount to the Beirut relief with two clicks. The money raised will go towards rebuilding houses for the families that were impacted by the explosion.”
How to vote
Canadians living in the UAE can register to vote online and be added to the International Register of Electors.
They'll then be sent a special ballot voting kit by mail either to their address, the Consulate General of Canada to the UAE in Dubai or The Embassy of Canada in Abu Dhabi
Registered voters mark the ballot with their choice and must send it back by 6pm Eastern time on October 21 (2am next Friday)
