Welcome to Pursuits Middle East, a new biweekly column that takes you inside the region’s fast-growing luxury lifestyle market.
(Bloomberg) — Welcome to Pursuits Middle East, a new biweekly column that takes you inside the region’s fast-growing luxury lifestyle market.
Hi, it’s Lisa. This week, everyone’s been talking about my story on House of Pops. You probably know the brand if you live in Dubai; if not, you’ll see it everywhere now. I also covered the restaurant lineup of what looks to become Dubai’s hottest new dining destination at One Za’abeel, the future home of One&Only and Siro hotels. Here’s more of what I’ve picked up recently.
$34 Million Plot of Sand Sale Redux
The sale of an undeveloped plot of beachfront land in Dubai last month made people rub their eyes over the 125 million dirham ($34 million) price tag. Now the seller, British fashion entrepreneur Umar Kamani, has done it again, unloading an adjacent, identical plot for 128 million dirhams, a spokesman for Kamani said.
The plots of sand are on the exclusive Jumeirah Bay Island, an artificial island shaped like a seahorse. Many parts of the island off the northern coast of Dubai remain undeveloped.
The transaction occurred without a broker, and the buyer is from the Gulf, a spokesman says. Kamani bought the pair of properties for 73 million dirhams in February 2021.
Dubai Airport Chief to JFK: Call Me.
Paul Griffiths is unimpressed with John F. Kennedy International Airport, to say the least.
The chief executive officer of Dubai Airports blasted New York’s busiest airport, saying he had to stand in an immigration line on April 26 for four hours and 40 minutes.
“If anyone from JFK is listening and would like a bit of free consultancy, you know where I am,” he told presenter Brandy Scott on May 9 on the Business Breakfast radio program on Dubai Eye 103.8.
A spokesman for the US Customs and Border Protection agency said officers work to balance safety and security with speed and efficiency. “As CBP prepares for this year’s busy summer season, we encourage international travelers to plan accordingly, make truthful customs declarations, and check the CBP wait times page for border crossing and airport wait time information,” CBP spokesman Anthony Bucci said.
Griffiths was on the radio to talk about the latest figures from Dubai Airports, which handled 21.2 million passengers in the first quarter, up 55.8% over last year’s comparable quarter. (By comparison, JFK had 13.6 million passengers in this year’s first quarter, says Port Authority.)
“It’s a very competitive business, and the quality of the airport experience, I have to say, is something I take a great personal interest,” Griffiths said. “The baggage performance, the immigration flows, everything seems to be working well—not like the experience I had when I went through JFK.”
The full-year forecast is for Dubai to serve 83.6 million passengers, close to its 2019 figures. Griffiths said he won’t be surprised if the figure hits 90 million.
“Incredible numbers, showing the resilience of the aviation industry,” he said. “I’ve been in this business far too long, and I think that I haven’t seen a period in the post-Covid recovery where we have seen such sustained traffic numbers month on month. Normally this business is very cyclical and very difficult to manage because of the change in market demand, but everyone wants to get on a plane at the moment.”
Shiseido Exec Sees Big Opportunity in Middle East Skin Care
Walking around the malls of the Middle East, Shiseido’s Franck Marilly says he is impressed with the professional look of the makeup many women are wearing.
“I’ve never seen so many women with beautiful makeup, so well executed, as in the Middle East,” Marilly, the president and CEO of Shiseido EMEA, says in an interview. “It’s quite amazing, actually. However, on skin care, we think there’s a lot of education to do.”
That’s one reason why the high-end cosmetics company chose Dubai to locate its first Shiseido Ginza Tokyo boutique outside Asia. Its store in the Mall of the Emirates offers facial treatments and classes and is looking to bring over from Japan its virtual makeup try-on service.
“It was time for us to wake up to this immense opportunity of the Middle East, which is strategically a very important region for us,” Marilly says. “Skin care is still small in the Middle East.”
That’s true, says Fahed Ghanim, CEO of lifestyle at Majid Al Futtaim, which operates the mall. “Women spend more on makeup,” he says. “How do you take care of your skin as you grow and at different ages of your life? That has been a second priority, I would say.”
A further reason to open is the high average spending of customers in Dubai. Higher spending has come with the influx of Russians after the invasion of Ukraine, Marilly says. “From what I hear, it seems to be a high percentage of business, as a matter of fact, for the unfortunate reasons that we know.” Shiseido EMEA expects its average customer to spend $250 to $300. The store in the Mall of the Emirates is the first of 10 or 20 stores it plans to open in the region, Marilly says.
The Shiseido brand isn’t that well known in the Middle East, he adds. “There is some catch-up to do, to be honest,” he says. Stand-alone stores in Europe are not in the cards.
More Middle East Luxury News
- A 1,100-year-old Hebrew Bible was purchased for $38.1 million for ANU — Museum of the Jewish People in Tel Aviv (Bloomberg)
- Michelin names Bib Gourmand winner for Dubai (What’s On)
- Another nearly brand-new Dubai dining destination is going to be redeveloped: Nakheel’s the Pointe (Caterer)
- Marriott plans a Le Méridien Resort on Ras al Khaimah’s Al Marjan Island (Hotelier)
- Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea Global starts an adventure sports company, Akun (Skift)
- Flydubai redesigns its business-class experience (Skift)
- The Five Hotel & Resorts brand jet is open for bookings (Hotelier)
Other Bloomberg Pursuits Stories You Should See
- This New Airline Is Raising the Bar, From First Class to Economy Starlux has officially begun flying in the US. Here’s a look inside its fancy cabins.
- The $105,000 Lotus Emira Looks Like a Supercar—for Half the Price Hannah Elliott says the “baby Ferrari” gives the 718 Porsche Cayman a run for its money.
- Why You Should Always Bring Two Phones When Traveling This and other travel tips from Kyle Hotchkiss Carone, a rising hospitality star, who flies more than 125,000 miles each year.
- Airlines’ First-Class Makeovers Give the Rich Hotel Rooms in the Sky Carriers are investing billions of dollars to upgrade cabins.
- The 13 Most Anticipated Movies of Summer 2023 From the return of Indiana Jones to Greta Gerwig’s Barbie, here’s what’s to see from May through August.
(Adds comment fromU.S. Customs and Border Protection in ninth paragraph.)
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