Think of fashion, shopping and well-heeled clientele and sunglasses spring to mind. Throw in year-round sun, reflective surfaces and glare and you have a sunglass vendors dream, a market otherwise known as Dubai.
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That’s the good news. The not so good news is that Dubai is the designer label and special edition capital of the world where shoppers want the best and blingiest. So how does a sunglass maker compete with world class brands in a market where, to some at least, money is no object?
Maui Jim started that job seven years ago when it opened for business in the region. The local office is managed by Martine Larroque, a veteran of doing business in the Middle East and Frannie Heine, who hails from the sunglass maker’s Peoria Illinois base back in the US. As well as building up the Middle East region from its home in the free trade zone in the emirate it is also expanding out its sphere of influence to South Africa.
Dubai has long been a centre for trade where East meets West where rickety dhows, their decks full of the most modern electronics, ply their wares through avenues of mirrored skyscrapers. In the last 25 years Dubai has transformed itself from a tiny port surrounded by baked earth into a 21 century metropolis. There is more of Flash Gordon than Laurence of Arabia about the city state which has been constructed on a on a truly awesome scale.
The region is hot, very hot, and the atmosphere dusty. The ground is white and the majority of buildings are clad in mirrored glass and white marble. This is a region not conducive to contact lens wear. Sunglasses are a must both for cutting down glare and protection of the eyes from UV.
Cragg Martch from the local office says Dubai is a very mobile town; burning hot street to air-conditioned car to steamy street and then and air-conditioned office. ‘People here are always on the move. He says the brand is building, ‘word of mouth is very important in this region ‘ People are beginning to understand how important it is to look after their eyes. For women in headscarves sunglasses are a great differentiator --watch, handbag, sunglasses.’ He says its great seeing a man in a khandura (the local dress) wearing Maui Jims. ‘Dubai is a crazy market and it’s a competitive market.’ He admits that fakes are out there, ‘it shows how important your brand is,’ he jokes, before adding seriously. ‘You can’t buy a fake Maui Jim and not know about it.’
International marketing manager Martijn van Eerde says that while there are super-rich shoppers in Dubai there is also a whole hierarchy of buyers below who demand value for money too. Emiratees tend to be the business owners while their Arab neighbours, ex-pats and Indian professionals the business managers. Many Filipinos and south Asians also work in the region. From the locals: ‘Volumes tend to be higher because people buy lots of pairs for themselves and their family,’ he says. The retailers tend to also buy big. The nature of retailing in the region, massive malls and huge influxes of customers, tends to favour the chains. Indian managers have a very good appreciation of technical quality while many of the ex-pats have a good income and a good knowledge of Maui Jim. ‘We try and connect with all of these different groups at a different level,’ he adds. Cultural differences such as haggling do exist he says, ‘ we get asked for big discounts but we try and hold the line,’
One of the biggest retailers in the region with a swanky store in the colossal mall, under the equally colossal Burj Khalifa tower, is Dubai Optical. Manager Osama Irshaidat says everyone is looking for quality sunwear regardless of price point.’ The big thing everyone is looking for is quality and style and it’s a brand that will never let you down.’ A lot of customers are tourists, while the store offers prescription product from Maui Jim and deliver globally, 70 per cent of the business is in sunglasses. Irshaidat certainly has it work cut out as his store is flanked by boutique outlets more reminiscent of exhibitor stands at Mido than optical stores.
Surprisingly for, what most people would think of as a male-dominated society, Maui Jim’s Middle East operation is headed up by two women. This Franco-American double act, based in the free trade zone of Dubai, both insist that anyone who knows Dubai wouldn’t be surprised.
Heine started her career with Maui Jim packing boxes during the holidays back in Peoria. An internship with Maui Jim led into a career in human resources and the opportunity to move into management with the company in Dubai. She says the Dubai office has 15 staff and nine different nationalities. Everyone is from somewhere else, she says. ‘We treat work colleagues more like family, it’s that kind of place.’ Everyone has been thrown together and you have to get on. ‘Even though I speak English all day I sometimes feel like I’ve been speaking a foreign language because of the cultural differences.’
She says the Maui Jim message to win wearers remains the same. ‘Fashion and function. The main thing is to get it on their face. Once they have worn it they are convinced.’ Given the climate the need for sunglasses is obviously greater. Hardly anyone wears contact lenses, it rains perhaps four days a year and its sunny 365 days and very hot during the summer. The atmosphere is often quite thick as the sea interacts with the atmosphere and dust. ‘Because you are going to be wearing sunglasses every day it’s not seen as such a guilty pleasure. People tend to buy three or four pairs.’
Larroque also points to the international nature of Dubai. ‘ 80 per cent of the people who are driving this economy are from overseas.’ There is an emphasis on business. ‘ The airlines will call the big malls to say there are 20,000 Chinese coming in April so you had better get ready with your stock.’ Others describe Dubai as the Las Vegas of the Middle East, drawing in people from all over the region to shop, be entertained enjoy and experiences not always available at home. The summers used to be quiet, she says, now concerts and other entertainment is on every night and people are flocking to the city, its business first.
On the question of women running the business Larroque is characteristically forthright. ‘This is a country where women are respected,’ she says. If you go into a post office there is a queue but not for women, there’s a special line and you go straight to the front. ‘Does it make it hard for a woman?, ’she says, repeating the question. ‘No it makes it easier because men will listen to you. It’s easier for a woman.’