Saudi Arabia seems to be relatively unscathed by the vicissitudes of the economic storm that has ravaged much of the world. There are few empty shop fronts visible and no apparent decline in the numbers visiting shopping malls for their real or vicarious consumption experience.
In the rarefied heights of the luxury market it seems that, as Benjamin Franklin opined, there really is no remedy for luxury. Haifa Alangari is the founder of Mayass luxury retail outlets.
Alangari defined luxury as superfluous goods you want but do not need, an indulgence of the senses, goods that can deliver emotional benefit that is hard to match with a comparable product.
“The consumer gets an emotional return for the cash investment and that is linked to the environment in which it is bought and the concept marketing that goes with it.”
Alangari, a luxury expert and the owner of Sarmada Marketing cited Tawhid Abdullah of Dama LLC mentioning that “the regional luxury goods sectors will reach a value of $100 billion by 2010”.
Abdullah referred to a booming youth market driving the luxury goods sector. “Women and the younger generation in the region are serious luxury product buyers right from the age of 20 compared with 40 years in the west. This gives 20 extra years for luxury brands in our region”, he added.
Alangari agrees with Noha Nashaat, managing director and head of Middle East at Barclay’s Wealth on the concept of wealth that money can buy life experiences and quality time. “Today, it is not about what money can buy but how it could enrich one’s life experiences.”
“Being wealthy today implies having the privilege of spending quality time with family and friends and escaping the stressful routine of everyday life,” she added.
Alangari believes the luxury retail market in the kingdom has not been affected like its counterparts. Last year was a very competitive year for her.
It was a red market. She thought that in 2009 the market would clean itself up. She is adapting a strategy of capitalizing on her strengths-research-and keep on going forward.
“Financial means alone cannot sustain a business if other core factors are not established,” she said. “The right product mix, distinctive service, and creating an enjoyable shopping experience are important factors. Today’s clients are well informed and more demanding.”
It worked. Now in its third iteration, Mayass new flagship store has quietly opened in a prime location in Jeddah. “And as part of the Mayass experience, I have commissioned an interior that delivers a real ‘WOW!’ experience so essential to the market we cater for.”
Alangari knows whereof she speaks. She is a formidably energetic fast thinking rapid speaking PhD in politics and with a soundly established luxury brands behind her, built over a period of 23 years as a result of her own vision, goals, directions, and persistence to take on the challenges of the male dominated business world of the Kingdom.
Her secret weapons are her well-focused strategy and commitment.
With the new Mayass store safely under way, Alangari’s incessantly busy curiosity has opened up a new area for 2009.
Global Vision: E-Midad
“I have a global vision for marketing and the way forward here is the Internet,” she said. She has already structured a new company — E-Midad — to trail-blaze her idea. “The Internet has radically altered the way billions of people think and act, “ she said. It’s become the essential linking factor that connects lives and cultures and it is finally reaching true global effectiveness.”
The advent of WiMAX — Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access — underpins Alangari’s venture into the Internet. Its wireless delivery of broadband for total global coverage presents an opportunity not to be missed.
Viral marketing, an extension of the word-of-mouth marketing that has sustained Mayass, is pervasive and effective.
Will E-Midad be the final frontier for Alangari? “No, I am an eternal student and there is no point at which I will stop and say, ‘This is where we are and that’s it.’”
“There is always a point that I aim for all the time — it’s a journey not a destination. I am very ambitious, but it’s not always so much about money, my entrepreneurial projects, and my research give me a great sense of achievement.”
