Qatari market will see extensive influx of Italian fashion houses; Envoy

Italy’s Ambassador to Qatar, Alessandro Prunas has revealed that fashion fans across the country will be able to see more popular Italian fashion houses opening stores in Qatar.

Qatari market is already engaged with a range of Italian luxury fashion brands and the sales of Italian fashion products have increased in the country, despite the COVID-19 pandemic, he said.

Mr. Prunas made his statement during a press conference on the topic ‘Italian and Qatari Fashionistas’ organized by the Qatari Business Women Association (QBWA) in partnership with the Italian Chamber of Commerce (ICC).

“That tells a lot on how the Italian fashion industry which is a very large industry is incredibly popular in Qatar, and worldwide. Loro Piana was also just inaugurated about two months ago at the Qatar Duty-Free. With Loro Piana, we’re talking about top range, very luxurious, incredibly beautiful products. I’m sure in the run-up to the World Cup, many more will come. Because again, the World Cup is putting Qatar in the spotlight and a lot of tourists, not just locals, will be coming here. This obviously will increase market opportunity. So I’m quite confident that many more will come here.”

In December, famous Italian fashion house Loro Piana has opened its first travel retail boutique in the Middle East at the Hamad International Airport. The new boutique offers an exotic range of fashion products from the world’s renowned cashmere brand.

Further, the Italian Ambassador highlighted the Qatari investments in the fashion industry in Italy, including the acquisition of the popular Valentino brand by Qatari royals in 2012.

“Qatar has also invested in fashion in Italy, with Valentino being acquired by Mayhoola for Investments. So they invested in it leaving its nature and operations under Italian management and Italian designers in Italy, where the artisanship is very good. And Valentino has grown exponentially since Mayhoola has bought it. It has increased its profit by more than 100 percent in five years. The fashion market in Italy is so vibrant. There are so many brands and it’s always moving. I’m sure they (Qatari investors) will be looking at other opportunities,” added Mr. Prunas.

According to the previous reports, Qatar has made several important investments in Italy mainly in the luxury and real estate sectors and the trade volume between Qatar and Italy has reached $1.55 billion (€1.3 billion) during the first nine months of 2020.