Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
On April 10-11, The Business of Fashion (BoF) hosted CROSSROADS at the One&Only One Za’abeel hotel in Dubai — where business and creative leaders examined the opportunities for fashion, beauty and luxury brands in the Middle East, Central and South Asia, Southeast Asia, Africa and Latin America.
During the event, Imran Amed, chief executive officer and founder of The Business of Fashion, hosted a lunch and fireside chat with Michael Chalhoub, chief executive officer of Chalhoub Group — a leading luxury retailer in the Middle East region. The group represents hundreds of global fashion brands, including Versace, Jimmy Choo and Jacquemus, and employs over 16,000 professionals across eight countries.
Since its launch in 1955, Chalhoub Group has catered to the evolving luxury consumer needs in the region across retail and brand ventures. March 2025 was the company’s strongest month ever — falling on an already major milestone moment, with Chalhoub Group celebrating its 70th anniversary and the appointment of its third-generation leader, Michael, as CEO — as of January 1 2025.
“This month of March doesn’t come from my two months in leadership. It comes from very solid foundations,” said Chalhoub during the fireside chat at CROSSROADS.
Its foundations originate in the Middle East, where the group continues to optimise its omnichannel operations to deliver on consumer needs. For instance, a focus on refined logistics and strategic planning during Ramadan this year led to a new 12am to 2am delivery slot, to suit waking hours around fasting during Ramadan. Chalhoub Group also launched micro-fulfilment centres in Riyadh, enabling two-hour delivery to match its delivery time in Dubai.
Chalhoub Group has also recognised the opportunities presented in the wider Global South. It is expanding its reach and operations in Africa and Latin America, with a growing presence in countries like Panama, Colombia, Peru, Chile, Costa Rica, St. Barthélemy, and an investment in an operation that covers 33 countries in sub-Saharan Africa.
“We are trying to be where our partners need us, in emerging markets, mainly, where we are trying to bring more stability and to build that bridge between the Western world,” said Chalhoub.
Indeed, the luxury market is heavily impacted by the macro-economic headwinds and instability driven by a declining Western market. According to BoF and McKinsey & Co.’s The State of Fashion 2025 report, domestic luxury demand is expected to be low in Europe, affected by consumer caution. Consequently, global businesses are seeking new and more resilient opportunities in emerging markets in the Global South.
Now, BoF shares insights from Michael Chalhoub on the current state of luxury in MENA — and how Chalhoub Group is preparing for emerging market opportunities and new luxury consumers within the region and further afield.
Preparing for the ‘domino effect’ in the region
MC: With everything that’s happening in the world and geopolitically in our region, we are cautious. We have to be cautious. There is a potential domino effect that is going to touch our region. Even though we’ve not felt it too much yet, we all see the news and see what’s happening.
The rest of the world is tightening its belt — and so we need to be ready to tighten it when necessary. But that being said, there is still a lot of optimism. Ramadan and Eid are important periods for us in the world of fashion in our region and they have been good for the whole industry.
Now that [the region is] in the limelight, we have to compensate. We have to be the [connection] of growth for the brands that are stuck or not doing particularly well globally and that are having more trouble seeing a bright future. [These brands] need to either pass the baton to us or, in a more difficult way, make it a point for them to make the Middle East region more central to their strategy.
Identifying regionally nuanced consumer needs
MC: It’s easy to say, “The Middle East consumer”, but there’s no Middle East consumer. There’s a Kuwaiti consumer that is very different to the Saudi consumer from the east of Saudi, from the west of Saudi, and again very different from the Dubai consumer.
[...] Then we have the [rapidly changing roles of women in the region]. In Saudi Arabia, we have women that have only been working for the last 10 years or so. [She] has a social life that she needs to cater to [and] has a salary to spend for leisure as well.
We are trying to be where our partners need us, in emerging markets, where we are trying to bring more stability and to build that bridge between the Western world.
The last five years [...] was [spent] trying to know our customer. That’s the basis of it all: trying to identify who our customer is, what they are looking for and what the cross-selling opportunities are. We have an intelligence team, in particular in the consumer intelligence field, that will do qualitative, quantitative research in this space.
Delivering on shifting consumer expectations
MC: We have invested a lot in trying to figure out who our customer is. It becomes easier because you see opportunities and you bring the right brands for them. We have been putting together a portfolio of brands that appeal to these customers because we know their taste — and because we know what they’re looking for.
We then cater an experience to that customer and really invest in our workforce to give them that in-store experience they’re looking for. [...] Out of the top three expenditures [in the region], fashion is number one — before entertainment, before dining out, before hospitality, before beauty.
Building upon business foundations in new markets
MC: [When it comes to investing in Latin America,] there’s a mix between an opportunistic, more tactical way of doing things and something that is strategic. For example, we have realised that there are a lot of similarities. [...] I think that the things that we looked for in the Middle East and are currently being looked for in Latin America as well.
We are a people-first organisation. It is also so important to us that we have a similar culture throughout our enterprises.
We are a people-first organisation. It is also so important to us that we have a similar culture throughout our enterprises, whether they be in LATAM, whether they be in Africa, or whether they’d be in the Middle East.
If the foundations are solid, [it benefits] the people that have set those foundations. This [financial record in the] month of March doesn’t come from my [first three] months in leadership. They come from those very solid foundations.
This is a sponsored feature paid for by Chalhoub Group as part of a BoF partnership.
