JEDDAH, 4 June 2008 — Sultan Salem Al-Qiwani is a UAE national from Dubai who says that the booming Saudi economy provides an ideal and lucrative investment climate.
“The Saudi economy is booming and I thought this is the most opportune time to start investing here,” Al-Qiwani told Arab News on the sidelines of the opening of his Saudi pilot project, NV Department Store, at Al-Rawdah Street here Tuesday.
Al-Qiwani’s “new concept’ showroom displays luxury furniture, furnishing, textiles and home and lifestyle accessories sourced from the United States and Europe. “I am a UAE national, but I want to do business in Saudi Arabia and have chosen Jeddah for my first venture. I will follow it up with other showrooms in Alkhobar and Riyadh before I launch one in Dubai within the next two years.”
Al-Qiwani said the dynamics of consumerism is changing at a very fast pace. “Consumers today are more affluent, better traveled and more discerning.”
He added: “I have named my showroom ‘NV’, which is a new concept showroom with luxury lifestyle components. NV is not only a furniture store, but also a lifestyle concept that provides enviable style, unparalleled comfort and most importantly, affordable luxury right in the heart of the city.”
“Saudis, especially those urbane, well traveled, design conscious and quality driven customers who shop abroad for the best in craftsmanship and class, now have a convenient option of finding it all here under one roof,” he said.
NV is introduced in Saudi Arabia by FDS Dubai (Franchising Development Services), which is the first franchising development company in Dubai.
“I developed the NV concept conceived on recognizing the need for a luxury lifestyle store in the Saudi market. The range of products showcased at the stores has been carefully selected,” he said.
“Although Saudi Arabia has specialty stores that have home fashion products, I find that these are too fragmented,” he added.
“There was no store that housed everything under one roof, so my team and I traveled extensively to pull in together product ranges that would fit in perfectly to the various components of this concept,” he said.
