Burberry Group, a global luxury company, has formed a joint venture covering parts of the Middle East with its longstanding franchisee, The Jashanmal Group.

The joint venture has created a new company, Burberry Middle East, headquartered in Dubai.

Burberry Middle East will manage all Burberry retail and wholesale distribution within the UAE markets including Dubai and Abu Dhabi, as well as Qatar, Oman and Kuwait under a 15-year agreement, a statement said.

Angela Ahrendts, chief executive officer of Burberry, said: “Jashanmal has been a wonderful trusted partner in the Middle East and has built a very successful Burberry business for over 10 years.  We are excited by this new joint venture with them, giving us the opportunity for an even stronger collaboration in this high growth, under-penetrated market. Jashanmal has proven expertise having operated significant retail, wholesale and distribution businesses in the Middle East for many years.”

Gangu Batra, group president of Jashanmal, said: “Burberry is an iconic brand with a unique heritage in the luxury sector. We have worked very well together in the past and are delighted to develop our partnership further through this important joint venture. Burberry is one of the best known and most popular brands in the region and we see significant opportunities ahead.”

The joint venture will enable Burberry and Jashanmal to capitalise more quickly on opportunities in parts of the Middle East while increasing investment in this proven region. Year-to-date comparable store sales in these countries have increased by over 40 per cent, demonstrating the growth potential of the market.

The first Burberry store in the Middle East opened in 1997 in Dubai under a franchise agreement with Jashanmal. There are currently eight stores in the joint venture, with a further four planned for the current financial year. Of these, two will be dedicated childrenswear stores, a product category which is a key growth area for Burberry.

Burberry Middle East has recently opened its largest store in The Dubai Mall. This flagship store carries both Burberry Prorsum and Burberry London Collection ready-to-wear and accessories. It is the first time that Burberry Prorsum menswear has been available in the Middle East, it said. - TradeArabia News Service