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UAE: British-Canadian couple find rewarding Christmas hustle in Abu Dhabi

Abu-Dhabi-based couple spread joy by selling Christmas trees

We are weeks away from the jolly holiday of Christmas, and that means making lists — feast menus and guest lists and decor ideas — for the festive season. And one element that’s central to the show is the Christmas tree.

It’s often the tree, decorated in lights and baubles, that evokes the nostalgia of Christmases past and cheers you on with the promise of presents and happiness tomorrow.

For Abu-Dhabi-based British-Canadian couple Simone Jucker and Christian Lear (51), the fun is manifold because not only do they decorate their own tree but also spread joy by selling firs.

The couple’s story began 15 years ago. Simone is from the province of Nova Scotia in Canada, which boasts strong agricultural lands across vast rural areas and soil conditions perfect for growing Christmas trees. The county of Lunenburg, Nova Scotia is actually known as “Christmas tree capital of the world”, according to its signage off Hwy 103, just outside of Halifax, Nova Scotia.

“We first started to import our Christmas trees from Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. So it wasn’t too surprising that on one of my business trips back to Nova Scotia where I would host information briefing sessions for companies and governments about what it was like to conduct business in the UAE and GCC countries, I was asked about the potential for importing fresh Christmas trees from Nova Scotia. Christmas is my favourite time of year, and one thing I knew for sure was that the real trees I had seen over the time I had been living in Abu Dhabi looked more like the sad Charlie Brown tree that you just knew wasn’t going to last until December 25th,” said Simone.

“I was excited about the challenge of helping the Cooperative of Christmas tree Farmers from Lunenburg County, and after getting the detailed history and paying a hands-on visit to the farms, I knew the only missing link was to find a suitable local Emirati partner. I spoke to my father-in-law, who shares a similar love for this holiday and asked which companies were known in the UAE for importing Christmas trees,” she added.

Scent of the fragrant branch

Simone embarked on her journey with the UAE-brand Oleander — a florist with branches in Dubai and Abu Dhabi — the importer of fresh Christmas trees to the UAE for over 40 years. Oleander flower shop —the first high end retailer of its type that provided floral products and landscaping from Europe — was established in 1975 at a time when Dubai was still developing into the metropolis it is today.

“My challenge was to convince the Emirati owner of Oleander that the Canadian Christmas trees were far superior than those from Holland and other parts of Europe. One phone call later to the farmers in Lunenburg country resulted in a FedEx package being sent to Dubai with a branch of fragrant, full-bodied Balsam fir. Upon arrival I received the phone call from the owner of Oleander telling me he was currently holding in his hands the fragrant branch from a Canadian Christmas tree,” said Simone.

Christmas Trees UAE — which can be reached at www.christmastreesuae.com — has been successfully importing up to 2,000 trees a year to customers across the country. “Due to warmer climates in Nova Scotia, we changed our supplier to another cooperative of farmers in the province of Quebec, and have been importing the Fraser Fir variety, which boast the best needle retention and fragrance, for the past seven years,” said Simone.

The couple’s business Clear Solutions is registered in Abu Dhabi, providing e-commerce, Artificial intelligence (AI), technology solutions, services, and technology consultancy.

Christian and Simone met in Costa Rica in 2002. Shortly after the meeting, Chris returned to Abu Dhabi where he had grown up; his family moved to the UAE from the UK in 1978. Simone joined him in 2003 and they have been living in Abu Dhabi ever since. They have three children.

Simone joined the British Chamber of Commerce Abu Dhabi in September 2022 as general manager. She has over 20 years of experience in international marketing and trade relations with the UAE and the countries that form the GCC. She has assisted private companies and government organisations to do business in this part of the world.

Formerly a Trade Commissioner (Education & Training) with the Embassy of Canada in Abu Dhabi and Executive Director of EduNova Gulf LLC, Simone has a wealth of knowledge and contacts in the UAE. She has been an active member of several business groups and councils in Abu Dhabi over the years and held roles including Chair and Vice-Chair.

Christian has worked for more than 25 years in the UAE across business operations, technology, culture, and education, working with large multinational organisations, government entities, and private companies.

“The UAE has been our home for most of our lives. We have been fortunate to have had great opportunities over the years, working across various sectors. The country embraces entrepreneurialism, innovation, and collaboration,” said Christian.

“We both come from families that have run small businesses. This has greatly influenced how we’ve approached what is our small side business. We have combined this with the skills we have learned in our careers and with the understanding of how to run customer-focused small enterprises,” he added.

A business background

Both Simone and Christian have business backgrounds. Simone’s parents ran a Bed & Breakfast for 18 years and Christian’s family had a service business in Abu Dhabi for over 40 years. Two years ago, Christian launched a number of AI products and established an AI and Technology Consultancy business.

The duo partnered with Oleander right at the start of their venture and the collaboration has helped them develop business skills.

“It was important to us that we worked with a florist who understood the need to properly care for the trees. Oleander gives all of the trees freshly cut bases as soon as they arrive at the nursery and keeps them in bays of water for up to 48 hours to rehydrate from their journey in refrigerated containers from Canada. These are all important steps to ensure the longevity of the trees into January,” said Christian.

Simone and Christian live in Abu Dhabi with their three children; the eldest is 11 and the twins nine.

“Our weekends and leisure time are usually very active and we love spending time outdoors especially in this time of year, whether that be at The Club, on our boat, in the desert camping or at the park,” concludes Simone.

4 Ps to build a successful business in the UAE

Patience

Persistence

Presence

Perseverance

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