While ski slopes, waterfalls and 155 million-year-old fossils might attract the tourists and the high-end dollars to the malls, it is the budget brands that are slowly becoming the UAE's booming sector.
F&F, the affordable fashion brand owned by the British behemoth Tesco, opened in Abu Dhabi's World Trade Centre Mall at the start of this month and in Dalma Mall on Thursday. That brings the total number of its stores in the UAE to six – four in the capital, one in Ras Al Khaimah and one in Dubai's Oasis Centre, the brand's first location, which opened last November.
"F&F has performed really well since we opened our first store in Dubai," said Troy Zunckel, the regional general manager of F&F. "We are pleased with the performance of our current stores in Abu Dhabi."
At an average price tag of Dh76, the F&F brand has been winning over customers, with its sales reportedly 12 per cent ahead of target at the end of this year's first quarter.
For those not familiar with the brand, F&F's standalone stores carry women's, men's and children's clothing at prices one would normally associate with a hypermarket. At the Dubai outlet yesterday, a shopper could find T-shirts for Dh17 and shoes at Dh129. The most expensive piece of apparel was a Dh159 jacket.
One of the reasons for F&F's success, apart from price, is the regular updating of stock.
"We have a lot of regular customers because the clothes change twice a week," said Muhammed Hussein, a sales assistant at the Dubai outlet. "We have regular sales in the children's clothes so you can now buy tops from Dh9. Most of the clothes are made in China and Bangladesh, but Tesco is a good brand known for its quality, and that is what you can see and feel with the clothes. You cannot say locals, Indians or Scottish shop in here because the world shops in here."
The F&F licence-holder for seven countries in this part of the world, including the UAE, is Al Futtaim.
Al Futtaim has further expansion scheduled for F&F in the Emirates in the second half of this year. The brand has a five-year plan to open as many as 40 F&Fs across the seven countries. Another retailer that caters to the masses, The Landmark Group, said this month that it intends to open 50 stores across the UAE by the end of next year, taking its store count in the country to more than 550.
"There is a huge latent demand for affordable clothing in UAE," said Nikola Kosutic, a retail analyst with Euromonitor. "The country is usually perceived as a luxury shopping destination, and retailing of affordable clothing has always been under the radar for many."
According to Euromonitor International, the average price of an apparel item sold in UAE is barely US$17. Compare that to the western European average of $28 and one can realise the UAE is not as broadly luxurious as it might appear in the first place.
Coexisting with a luxurious world of premium and super-premium clothing brands, an estimated Dh4 billion of clothing and footwear is being sold through hypermarkets and supermarkets. It is into this segment that F&F hopes to make inroads.
The chain's name, F&F, is short for Florence and Fred.
ascott@thenational.ae
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