This month, has seen the opening of the new Hermes and Louis Vuitton stores at Place Vendome Qatar Mall in Doha at Lusail. Hermes has taken yet another cautious approach with a mid-sized store which only features partially the product lines of the brands. The store is not operated directly but through its local retail partner Al Mana.
Nevertheless, with the new opening, Hermes has shut down its other in Doha, which opened over a decade ago at The Pearl Qatar – demonstrating once again the limited potential of the market. The previous store used to be operated by Al Mana too. The new Hermes store is relatively larger and features the most retail design concept. With the occasion of the new opening, Hermes hosted an exhibition at the iconic NMQ (National Museum of Qatar)
Louis Vuitton has opened its new store at Place Vendome Qatar, the second largest after the Dior store which opened last month. The Louis Vuitton is spread over two levels and features the complete range of products of the brand including Objets Nomades, the home collection of the brand. Yet, the new store does not feature high jewellery and only a limited selection of watches. For now, Louis Vuitton still operates its first store which has been operating at Villagio Mall.
The fact that Qatar owned Harrods is not planned to open in Doha (the department store) is a clear sign of reservation towards the real potential of Qatar as a luxury destination. Already, most of the international luxury brands are present in Doha – an additional presence at a luxury department store would be questionable. Without any doubt, it is not the FIFA World Cup which will be a boost for Qatar as a luxury market. Instead, more events and exhibitions could very well help the market.
Regarding other luxury sectors
- luxury watches & jewellery – Rolex and Audemars Piguet are among the many prestigious international brands which operate mono-brand boutiques in Doha, however, most of the luxury watch brands are widely present through wholesale – multi-brand stores; for the past 7 years, Doha has been hosting an annual jewellery exhibition which has been very successful
- luxury hotels
- the leading luxury hotels of Doha are: The Ritz-Carlton Doha, Four Seasons Hotel Doha, St Regis Doha, Mandarin Oriental Doha, Park Hyatt Doha, Banyan Tree Doha at La Cigalle
- luxury hotels in need of immediate renovations (highly unlikely before FIFA World Cup): Sharq Village Doha – Ritz-Carlton, W Doha, Intercontinental Doha, Marsa Malaz Kempinski
- luxury resorts: Zulal Wellness Resort by Chiva-Som, Al Messila – Luxury Collection, Banana Island Resort by Anantara
- most anticipated new luxury hotel openings: Raffles Doha & Fairmont Doha (Katara Towers, Lusail), Rosewood Doha (not to be open for the FIFA World Cup), EDITION Doha, The NED Doha (not to open for FIFA World Cup), The Chedi Katara
- luxury cars – all major luxury car brands are represented in Qatar
- luxury home collections / furniture – the luxury sector with the biggest potential for further development, including mono-brand showrooms
- luxury retail: Fifty One East and Al Mana are the leading luxury fashion retailer, with important representation of major fashion, watches and jewellery brands
- luxury hotels can boost Qatar’s positioning as a luxury destination but more for MICE, prestigious sports events, sports competitions, major economic events
With a bigger focus on marketing on the local market (Qataris and expats), luxury shopping in Doha can increase up to 40% – for the time being, most wealthy Qataris (U/HNWI) have been making their luxury shopping abroad.
Oliver Petcu in Doha
Raffles & Fairmont Doha, Katara Towers, Lusail
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