In Their Shoes: Patrick and Michael Chalhoub Come Together on Legacy, tradition, family and footwear.
Executive Chairman Patrick Chalhoub and his son, Chief Executive Officer Michael Chalhoub, as they celebrate the Chalhoub Group's 70th anniversary.
An inspiring story of family, visionary ambition, resilience, and unwavering passion—this feature captures a pivotal moment of transformation as the Group enters a new era.
Captured together through the Level lens, they discuss the values that have defined their legacy, the evolution of the Group, and the enduring bond between father and son.
Their dialogue offers a unique perspective on leadership, talent, and the collective vision that has shaped the success of one of the most influential luxury retail groups.
For Patrick Chalhoub, this anniversary is a moment to celebrate the collective effort of their teams: 'This milestone is an opportunity to celebrate our achievements and express our
appreciation to all the teams who have contributed to our success. Their sense of unity and collaboration have helped us get to where we are today.'
'It's not just about continuing to grow the company, but about ensuring it's in its best shape for generations.' shares Michael.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Gulf Business
07-07-2025
- Gulf Business
GCC luxury market has defied global slowdown, says Chaloub Group's Jasmina Banda
Image: Supplied The Gulf's personal luxury market is thriving, bucking global trends with $12.8bn in sales and a 6 per cent year-on-year growth in 2024, according to GCC Personal Luxury 2024: Unstoppable report. In this interview, Jasmina Banda, chief strategy officer and president of Joint Ventures at Chalhoub Group, unpacks the key findings — from the booming beauty segment and rising digital luxury adoption to the growing influence of tourism and the emergence of next-gen luxury brands in the region. Tell us about the key findings of the report; what intelligence did your team harness to develop this landmark report? As we analyse the findings of our latest GCC Personal Luxury report, one of the most significant findings is that the luxury sector in our region continues to demonstrate resilience and adaptability despite global economic challenges. With retail sales reaching $12.8bn and a growth trajectory that outpaces the international average, we see tremendous potential for brands to leverage this momentum. This document consolidates data from Chalhoub Group, its partners, and estimates for both offline and online markets across six GCC countries: the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, and Oman. Within its scope, the report analyses luxury trends across four categories: 77 high-end fashion brands, over 1,000 prestige beauty brands and retailers, 30 luxury watch brands, and 16 fine jewellery brands. Consumer insights are grounded in proprietary Chalhoub Group The GCC luxury market grew over 6 per cent in 2024, defying global declines. What key factor is driving this regional resilience and momentum? Several key factors are propelling the upward trajectory of luxury in the GCC: Favourable economic conditions: Strong government initiatives, particularly in Saudi Arabia and the UAE, foster a conducive environment for luxury spending. Retail expansion: The luxury retail landscape is evolving with new store openings and high-end mall developments enhancing consumer access to luxury brands. Consumer spending habits: Resilient consumer confidence and rising disposable incomes drive robust demand for luxury goods. Tourism resilience: Despite regional geopolitical challenges, an influx of affluent tourists continues to drive luxury sales. E-commerce growth: The transition towards online shopping is accelerating, with the e-commerce luxury segment outpacing global growth rates as consumer behaviours evolve. Fashion remains the largest category, while beauty saw the fastest growth at over 12 per cent. What are the consumer behaviours and trends behind this shift? In 2024, fashion remained the largest luxury category in the GCC, accounting for 43 per cent of total personal luxury spend, with a strong over 6 per cent year-on-year growth, mainly driven by ultra high-end brands and new store openings. However, prestige beauty outpaced all categories, registering the fastest growth at over 12 per cent, with skincare emerging as the top-performing subcategory, growing over 17 per cent versus 2023. Fragrance continues to dominate the beauty mix, contributing 49 per cent of total beauty sales. This shift reflects resilient consumer sentiment, with 97 per cent of GCC consumers intending to maintain or increase spending over the next three months. This is also driven by the ongoing retail expansion in the region — enabling greater access and visibility for luxury beauty brands. Despite luxury e-commerce in the GCC accounting for only 13 per cent of sales, it grew over 13 per cent — far ahead of the global average. What's enabling this digital acceleration, and where do you see the biggest opportunities online – either via AI, new products, new client segments? The GCC region is experiencing a surge in luxury e-commerce, with online sales now accounting for 13 per cent of the market — still below the global average of 20 per cent, but showing strong growth potential. In 2024, the region's online luxury channel grew by over 13 per cent, significantly outpacing the global market, which saw a decline of minus 4 to minus 1 per cent. This digital acceleration is fuelled by several factors: high domestic demand, an influx of affluent international shoppers, strong adoption of digital and omnichannel experiences, and the rapid expansion of emerging categories such as skincare and Asian beauty. With tourism rebounding and affluent visitors like Russians making up 16 per cent of luxury spend, how are tourist flows influencing purchasing patterns across categories — any specific categories to monitor? Tourism is playing a critical role in shaping luxury consumption in the UAE. With international visitors — particularly affluent travellers from markets like Russia, China, and India — making up a significant share of luxury spend, we're seeing strong demand across categories such as leather goods, watches, and jewellery. Dubai offers a strong concentration of top brands from these categories and remains a renowned destination for luxury shopping. The report notes a strong Q1 2025, helped by store openings and the Ramadan effect. How critical is physical retail — especially new mall developments — to sustaining growth in the region? Physical retail remains absolutely critical. Despite the rise of e-commerce, in-store experiences continue to drive discovery, brand engagement, and high-value purchases — especially in luxury, where sensory experience and personalised service are essential. In Q1 2025, fashion grew by over 11 per cent and beauty by over 23 per cent, with part of this growth driven by the opening of Solitaire Mall in February in Saudi Arabia. Seven new malls featuring luxury brands are scheduled to open across the UAE and Saudi Arabia by 2027, and these developments will definitely help boost the GCC luxury sector further. What opportunities do you see for newer-to-region luxury brands like Jacquemus and Zimmermann, and how are they tailoring their approach to the GCC market? We're seeing strong momentum from a new generation of luxury brands expanding in the region. The recent flagship openings of Jil Sander and Maison Margiela at Mall of the Emirates reflect growing demand for new and emerging brands in the GCC. This next phase will be driven by rising consumer expectations, generational shifts, and a stronger desire for emotional connection, storytelling, and curated experiences. Looking ahead, new retail developments will give brands more opportunities to elevate service and experience to meet the evolving expectations of the GCC consumer. With the market expected to reach $15 bn by 2027, what new or emerging categories (for example, skincare, wellness, athleisure, Asian beauty) do you expect to drive the next wave of growth? The GCC personal luxury market is poised for continued growth, projected to reach $15bn by 2027, driven by: Robust local spending along with continued inflow of tourists and wealthy expats New retail developments, particularly in Saudi Arabia and UAE (eight malls with luxury brands) New generation of luxury brands entering and expanding in the region (for example, Jil Sander, Zimmermann, Jacquemus) Development of new categories (for example, skincare, wellness, athleisure, Asian beauty) E-commerce acceleration, particularly pure players
Zawya
26-06-2025
- Zawya
Luxury sector pins hopes on Middle East despite clouds from conflict
With Middle East airspace reopening and the U.S.-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Iran appearing to hold, the luxury sector is still counting on the region's wealthy shoppers to help offset weakness in its main U.S. and Chinese markets - for now. The Middle East, helped by strong tourist flows and local wealth, has bucked a recent global slowdown in luxury sales that is expected to deepen this year, with some brands growing sales there at double-digit rates. Luxury sales in Gulf countries were up 6% to $12.8 billion of the nearly $400 billion market last year, outpacing a global drop of 2%, with strong appetite for high-end fashion, jewellery and beauty products, retail consultant Chalhoub Group said. However, that trade is heavily dependent on the region's burgeoning tourist trade, with consulting firm Bain estimating that some 50-60% of the Middle East's luxury sales come from tourists. This month's outbreak of an air war between Israel and Iran emphasised the ongoing risks in a region in which unrest was already simmering, with airlines cancelling flights and rerouting planes following Israel's strikes against Iran on June 13 - measures that are now being unwound. "At this point, we have not adjusted our long-term growth forecast, as we continue to see considerable potential in the region," said Federica Lovato, senior partner at Bain. "However, short-term volatility has increased in the last few weeks and may continue, depending on how the situation develops." The region is an important hub for travel spending, favoured by Russian oligarchs but also wealthy Asians, and has increased in importance since Russia's invasion of Ukraine triggered sanctions and the rerouting of flights between Europe and Asia from more northerly routes to the Middle East. It also serves as a gateway for high-end brands to reach wealthy shoppers from India, where high tariffs have kept companies like LVMH from expanding store networks. Max Heinemann, co-CEO of travel retail group Gebr Heinemann, which recently expanded into Saudi Arabia and operates airport fashion retail stores carrying luxury brands in Jeddah, said the region's travel market has shown long-term resilience despite unrest. He remains optimistic. "Dips may be witnessed, but growth will remain," he said. At Prada, first-quarter sales in the region rose 26% year-on-year, while Hermes' sales there were up 14%. High-end fashion and jewellery brands have been opening new stores and hosting splashy events. Milan-based menswear label Zegna this month took its spring collection to the opera house in Dubai, the region's leading luxury hub, for a catwalk show in an elaborate set evoking an Italian villa. Elie Saab held its 45th anniversary show in Riyadh last November, featuring a performance from Celine Dion. Dior, Saint Laurent and Valentino last year opened stores in Bahrain, while this year Louis Vuitton brought guests to the Dubai desert for a dawn meal and Chanel hosted a dinner in Abu Dhabi linked to a high jewellery launch. But maintaining visitor numbers to Middle Eastern destinations will be vital to bringing shoppers through the doors. Luxury travel agency Global Travel Moments says that for now, its long-term travel volumes to the Middle East have been unaffected by the latest unrest. However, given recent events, there is currently "certainly more caution" before finalizing trips to the broader Middle East, it said. ($1 = 0.8546 euros) (Reporting by Mimosa Spencer and Elisa Anzolin; Additional reporting by Luke Tyson in Dubai; Editing by Jan Harvey)
Khaleej Times
20-06-2025
- Khaleej Times
Smart tips, must-buy deals: How to shop at Dubai Summer Surprises like a pro
Sales shopping is absolutely on trend this season. Not only does the Dubai Summer Surprises (DSS) mascot Modesh dress exclusively in this season's hottest hue, yellow, but years of price increases at luxury brands have started to result in consumers laying down their credit cards and refusing to kowtow to escalating price tags. Last month, Chanel announced a 4.3 per cent fall in sales, its first decline since 2020, a period that also the saw the price of its iconic Classic Flap Bag almost double in price. A Medium Chanel Classic Flap Bag now costs approximately Dh42,720, up from around Dhs18,000 in 2016. Similar revenue declines have been seen across legacy luxury brands, with Louis Vuitton and Dior owner LVMH reporting a five per cent drop in sales of fashion and leather goods in the first quarter of 2025. Admittedly, Dubai and the wider GCC are bucking this trend. Chalhoub Group reported luxury fashion sales across the region have increased 11 per cent in the first three months of 2025, far outpacing global performance. But in a region where shopping is a national sport, particularly in the summer months when airconditioned malls offer welcome respite from the heat, we are wired to hunt down the best bargains, not at any cost, but at the chicest cost. However, with discounts of up to 90 per cent promised across DSS, which kicks off next weekend on June 27, it can be tempting to snap up ill-considered styles, just because the price drop is so steep. So, because girl math can quickly spiral when faced with a slashed-to-the-navel price tag, here are my rules for a successful DSS shopping spree. PREP YOUR WISH LIST If you wouldn't pay full price, it's not a bargain. Create wish lists in your favourite stores' websites throughout the season, adding only pieces you would pay full price for (were it not for school fees, rent, kids' activities etc devouring your budget). Then, when discounts are applied, you can easily identify the styles that deserve a share of your wallet. You'll also be alerted if a sold-out piece in your size comes back into stock. It might be 80 per cent off. Likewise, become WhatsApp friends with shop floor sales associates. Dubai's high-end stores offer exemplary customer service and staff will often be happy to send you a message when items you love go on sale. BUY BETTER… Buy less, buy better is a mantra often repeated, yet hard to stick to in the proliferation of disposable fast fashion, tempting social media ads, and price polarisation as the cheap gets cheaper — even in the face of tariffs — and the expensive gets even more out of reach (to wit, the Chanel Flap Bag mentioned above). Don't use sale periods as your chance to stock up on arm loads of already cheap clothes that won't bring you lasting joy. Instead, one or two incredible, well-made, thoughtful pieces that you'll wear, love and feel special in, from brands you wouldn't normally be able to afford, is the goal. No Labubu required. … AND BUTTER (YELLOW) One trend I will be buying into on sale is a fashion secret long known by the face of DSS. Yellow. Modesh has been wearing it since 1997. Notoriously tricky to get right, leave acid brights to cartoon characters such as Modesh, his sidekick Dana, SpongeBob et al. A soft, creamy butter shade that recalls dappled sunlight offers a contemporary take on summer pastels. If you are drawn to a bright yellow, I like it for an unexpected twist on formalwear, such as the Roksanda taffeta dress shown here. Like a magpie, I am without fail drawn to the glamorous allure of evening wear, and because of its higher starting price tag, DSS discounts appear even more tempting. Ironically, I also resent leaving the house after 7pm. A dichotomy that leaves me with a wardrobe full of (heavily discounted) gowns and little opportunity to wear them. If you too are tempted by evening wear, look for timeless silhouettes with a contemporary twist and a classic palette that will be relevant five, 10 years from now. Try Turkish brand The New Arrivals by İlkyaz Özel, and Lebanese brand Monot. And if you'd rather spend your evenings with Netflix and Deliveroo, invest in a pair of luxe Eberjey PJs instead. GOOD JEANS Denim is the trend that never dies. Pre-sale, identify your dream denim brand, fit and finish and strike when the price gets reduced. Department stores such as Harvey Nichols, Bloomingdale's and That Concept Store offer a broad range of brands under one roof to compare and contrast. Area's party jeans — with crystal-trimmed cut-outs — are brilliant, but expensive. For everyday denim, I rate Agolde and L'Agence for classic straight-leg fits, and Citizens of Humanity for a more directional horseshoe leg. A touch of stretch and a lightweight fabric is far more suited to a UAE summer than rigid, heavyweight denim. Finally, the reason celebs look so good in their jeans? Tailoring. A department store will do this for you or you can visit your local tailor. Most of my purchases are finessed by Hazel and her team at Thread Up on Wasl Road. WHAT WOULD J-LO DO? As a woman in my mid-40s I see a big divide among women my age as we approach middle age. Like our mums before us, we inexorably revert to high street heavyweights, such as Marks and Spencer and Next, with their elastic waistbands, crease-free fabrics and stain-concealing prints. I have nothing against M&S and Next, per se (the sheets and underwear are really good), but we have so much more choice than our mothers. My yardstick is 55-year-old Jennifer Lopez; if I can't imagine her wearing it, I'll pass. In the UK, disruptor brands such as Me + Em and Holland Cooper have quietly moved the dial around how women over 40 'should' dress, combining the practicality of an M&S staple with sleek styling that feels elegant and expensive. I also rate Next-owned Reiss's Atelier line, which launched two years ago and bridges high street and designer. The fabrics are unparalleled, and come with a price-tag to match. I'll be stocking up when they go on sale this summer. Race you to the 'Alex' utility jacket.
