JEDDAH, 11 October 2005 — Saudi Arabia, which remains the biggest market in the Gulf and occupies a leading position worldwide for the consumption of fragrances, now has a multimillion-riyal perfume market with new investments pouring in.
Aside from an increasing demand for fragrances and cosmetics from the local population, visitors for the year-round Umrah and annual Haj are contributing a good deal to the continuous expansion of the market. The current Ramadan month is an additional reason for perfume sales to go up as citizens and visitors include perfumes in the list of their shopping for gifts to celebrate the festive season.
“When it comes to giving gifts especially during the celebration of Ramadan, perfumes remain one of the main items,” one of the Kingdom’s leading dealers in fragrances told Arab News yesterday. Fragrances of a wide range and of high quality are available here, and they are among the first preferences from visitors to carry home to be given as gifts to their near and dear ones. Owing to the extremely personal nature of giving gifts, perfume is mostly preferred and appreciated, Muhammad Habib Al-Suwaidi, general manager of A.K. Saeed Company for Trade & Industry, one of the Kingdom’s leading perfume dealers, told Arab News on the sidelines of a ceremony at Jeddah Hilton where it introduced a range of new perfumes for women and men.
Ahmed A.K. Saeed, vice president of the company, introduced the new range of “elegant and high quality” perfumes. The range included “Ahibini” (Love Me) named after a song by Iraqi singer Qazim Al-Sahir, “Al-Hob Al-Jadeed” (New Love) named after a song by Saudi singer Abdul Majeed Abdullah, and “Arrisala” (The Message) based on a message sent by Faisal Al-Yami to actress Halima Poland.
The “Love Me” is a perfume for women and an eau de toilette for men. Both are designed in Paris.