In conversation with Patrick Fallmann, Partner / General Manager, Store Makers – Middle East (Exclusive Interview)

Tell us more about your company’s history, client profile and USPs

With over 150 years of corporate history, more than 35 years of project experience in the Middle East, and over 15 years of manufacturing in Dubai, we, the Store Makers – Middle East, are proud to be market leaders in Premium & Lifestyle Retail Interiors. 

Some of our clients range from high-end luxury brands such as Lanvin, IWC Schaffhausen, and Chaumet to lifestyle retail spaces within Harvey Nichols or for Magrabi, Diesel, Cole Haan and even travel retail like Abu Dhabi Duty Free and Dubai Duty Free. For more references, click here.

We take pride in our craftsmanship and ensuring that our client’s visions are turned into success. 

What services are you offering, and which are your key markets? 

The Store Makers – Middle East offer a range of services including Consultancy & Design, Interior Manufacturing, Installation, and Turn-key Solutions. Most of our clients are within the high-end and luxury industry, more specifically from the jewelry, watches and fashion segment. However, as the Middle East’s economy continues to grow, the Store Makers – Middle East have also been collaborating with new independent brands & homegrown brands that are looking into establishing their mark in the region.

Has there been an increase in physical (brick & mortar) retail outlets? (post pandemic)

Even though the pandemic made a dent when it comes to a consumer’s shopping journey, the past two years, has made retailers even more creative in bringing people back to their brick-and-mortar locations. “Instagrammable” aesthetics plus innovative experiential spaces prove that physical stores continue to have a place in retail.

With this, we continue to see an increase in physical stores post pandemic. In fact, with credit to Saudi Arabia’s growing economy, they prove to strengthen their retail industry with new establishments such as the newly opened Solitaire Mall in Riyadh. Just this year, more than half of our completed projects are within Saudi Arabia. 

Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain are also not to be missed as we’re seeing growing demand in our manufacturing services from retailers in those countries as well. 

What about pop-ups / ephemeral retail spaces? What about immersive retail spaces?

Amongst many others, we have recently executed a Pop-up project with Fred Perry, which we installed right after the big rain in the country, a cloud-shaped cave made of extruded materials -outside of Yas Mall, Abu Dhabi. Experiential spaces like these plus an opportunity to craft sustainable projects are what our team has been enjoying getting involved in as we continue to challenge our creativity and craftsmanship.

How do you see the future evolution of digital / AR? 

Going digital will always be a retailer’s direction, may it be through online and brick-and-mortar channels. We envision a future of customized shopping experience where every consumer can immerse themselves in shopping for products that fit their needs and even offer relevant products and promotions proactively through geo-targeted ads and experiential spaces. 

Brands are increasingly adopting “check-out free” technology, enabling shoppers to effortlessly pick up items and be charged automatically. We anticipate that such stores will thrive in regions where mobile wallets and digital payments are prevalent. Notably, Saudi Arabia and the UAE now conduct 50% of their payment transactions through digital methods.

To what extent do you follow trends? What about innovation? – tell us more about trends.

Sustainability has been in our company’s DNA for decades. Interestingly, eco-friendly practices and ethical sourcing has become a trend. In a sense, we don’t follow the trend. We’d like to say that we’re on the lead in practicing sustainability with our use of recycled wood panels, making sure that material scraps are being audited and used wisely and even using translucent roofing to illuminate our factory while keeping the temperature at bay. 

In terms of innovation, we implement them with new offerings in spaces as well as the store’s POS. All in collaboration with the brands and what aligns with their operations.

Are retail concepts different from market to market? To what extent brands adapt their retail design to each market? 

With our team serving the Middle East region, we make sure that we take in mind the localized concepts and designs to adapt to religious sensitivities such as “halal compliance”, culture, and language.  In some areas, this is still an important skillset to understand and we work closely with our partners in the design industry to consider it but at the same time, we see that global concepts with an element of sense-of-place are becoming a uniform standard.

Which are the key professionals you rely on for luxury retail projects?

To get access to some of the fantastic retail projects in the region we collaborate with brands, designers, operators, and real estate professionals that are working hard to commence everyone about our highest reliability records and consistency in the industry.

Together with our affiliates from umdasch group, we are fitting in more than 1 million sq. ft. of retail space every year and all our clients are equally important. 

What about implementation / execution? 

We have, across the region, a large network of partners for civil and MEP requirements, but beyond that we consider ourselves as a powerhouse that can cater from early stages of design and development until handover of the retail space as a one-stop shop solution. We have vast in-house resources, and we work closely with our peers who are part of our thriving ecosystem to bring the best projects to our clients.

Which are your most representative projects? 

All our projects speak for themselves. You can simply learn more about our projects at: www.storemakers-me.com/portfolio or follow us on Instagram and Linkedin

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