Dune London expands UAE presence

Danni Slater, international brand manager at Dune

Dune london, an affordable luxury footwear brand, has planned to open five new stores in the UAE in the next five months, a top official of the company told Khaleej Times.
"These new stores will be located in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Ras Al Khaimah, Fujairah, and Al Ain. After the new openings the total number of stores in the UAE will reach 19," Danni Slater, international brand manager at Dune, said during an interview.
The UK footwear brand aims to have more than 50 stores in the Middle East, according to Slater. "We are opening 17 new stores in 2017 in the Gulf countries. These will be located in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Kuwait," she informed.
The Middle East is the second largest market for the company, after the UK, for the London-based footwear company. It has a presence in over 200 locations in its home market, while globally, it has a footprint in more than 300 locations.
Dune London has partnered with the Apparel Group, which sells brands from the US, Canada, Europe, Australia, Asia, and includes leading names such as Tommy Hilfiger, Aldo, Nine West, Skechers, Aeropostale, The Children's Place, Tim Hortons, and Charles & Keith to name a few.
The Middle East and especially the UAE is very strong growth market for Dune, Slater said, adding that the company is considering bringing 'Head over Heels by Dune' in this market. It's a more affordable footwear brand compared to Dune, and is expected to do extremely well in this market, she said. She also mentioned that Dune has a specially designed product for the Middle East market with the consultation of the Apparel Group team.
Talking about the UK market after Brexit, she said the business is as usual. "Our store in store business is huge in the UK. The e-commerce business is also growing fast," she added.
She didn't share the sales number in the Middle East, but said that around 65 per cent of the total sales come from their women's collection. The men's collection is also catching up, and it has increased from six per cent to 13 per cent in the UAE.
Slater was in town to launch the new Autumn/Winter 2016 collection of Dune. This AW16, Dune Men's brings together a collection that mixes the traditional with the functional and sits classic staples alongside updated new shapes.
She said that accessories sales are also doing very well. Accessories take on a new direction for AW16, silhouettes become more refined, the use of colour and texture is revived and additional dimensions are explored.
Moving into the new season, a clean, modernist aesthetic is introduced through unlined structures, minimal hardware and subtle branding. - abdulbasit@khaleejtimes.com