JEDDAH, 2 March 2007 — Giordano, a major international retailer of men’s, women’s and children’s apparel and accessories, has planned to expand its presence in Saudi Arabia, the rest of the Middle East and elsewhere in the world this year, according to the company’s program announced yesterday.
“In the Kingdom, Saudis constitute 30 percent of our employees and we hope to increase their strength with on-job and other in-house and external training programs in the upcoming years,” Ishwar Chugani, executive director for Giordano Middle East and Africa and also director at Giordano-ETA India Pvt. Ltd., Giordano (Australia) Pty. Ltd. and retail business development (ETA-Ascon Group), told reporters. Today, Giordano Middle East operates more than 140 stores covering eight markets including the GCC countries, Jordan, Georgia, Russia, Bulgaria, Armenia, Algeria and Iran. Giordano International operates over 1,800 stores globally, said Chugani, a founding member and director of the Middle East Council of Shopping Centers.
In the Middle East, Giordano, which has received numerous accolades over the years including service excellence awards from Dubai’s major malls BurJuman and Deira City Center, has plans to open up to 170 stores within the next three years.
In Saudi Arabia, the company plans to have a store in every major mall. The company’s brands — “Giordano” and “Giordano Junior” — are today synonymous with superior quality, value and service. They also have an apparel manufacturing division that takes care of some of their own retail requirements as well as supplying merchandise to other world-renowned brands.
“Giordano’s vision is to be the biggest and best world brand in apparel retailing,” Chugani said, adding that Giordano is a dynamic retailer of casual apparel catering to a market that is young and has a thirst for refreshing and affordable clothes. “In an industry which is plagued by constantly changing trends that create rising production costs, Giordano has developed a more pliant approach to fashion retailing.”
Giordano Middle East was established in March 1993 as a joint venture between Emirates Trading Agency (ETA), Dubai, and Giordano International Ltd, Hong Kong.