RIYADH, 9 November 2007 — Italian fashion retailer Oviesse (OVS) has opened branches in Riyadh and Jeddah to give middle-income customers more choices on where to buy fashionable and high quality clothes and jewelry at reasonable prices.
The Riyadh branch, with a 1,000 sq. m. display area and the first for Oviesse in the Kingdom which has 300 shops in Italy alone, was opened recently with Italian Ambassador Eugenio d’Auria as guest of honor while the Jeddah branch was inaugurated shortly thereafter.
Two more branches, one each in Riyadh and Jeddah, will be opened very soon.
“The opening of OVS shopping centers in Saudi Arabia is certainly a welcome development. It does not only pave the way for an increased trade between Italy and Saudi Arabia but also helps strengthen the bilateral ties between the two countries,” the envoy said.
The opening of the shopping mall will not only make Italian fashion products more available in the Kingdom but also more affordable since OVS caters to the middle level market, he aded.
Mohammad Al-Ajlan, owner of the OVS shopping centers, said “we are optimistic about the Saudi market. The economy is booming and the population is growing. The number of expatriates who comprise our market is increasing, and this is one reason for my optimism.”
He said that “in a way, it’s good if there are competitors.” Each one of them would be forced to offer high-quality products at the best possible rates. Otherwise, Al-Ajlan said, the customers won’t patronize them.
Al-Ajlan this early also disclosed expansion plans, saying that “very soon, we’ll also open a branch in Dubai, which is a business hub. I need not mention the big projects being undertaken there to get the message across that the emirate is a very potential market,” he said.
