A luxurious vision for the city of the future

The Life: Alban Belloir, the managing director for Middle East and India at Van, Cleef and Arpels, talks about the expansion of the luxury fashion house in the UAE.

Alban Belloir, the managing director for Middle East and India at Van, Cleef and Arpels, says they will open another store in Mall of the Emirates early next year. Pawan Singh / The National

For Alban Belloir, the managing director of Middle East and India at the fashion house Van Cleef and Arpels, luxury boutiques have been a part of his life for the past decade. Based in Dubai, he is now overseeing the expansion of the 116-year-old French jewellery house in the region.

You opened the second Van Cleef and Arpels store in Abu Dhabi and you have two stores in Dubai. What makes Abu Dhabi an attractive market?

Abu Dhabi is the city of the future and it is important for us to anticipate the luxury market and have a strong presence [here]. We opened our first Abu Dhabi outlet in 2008 in Marina Mall and the second in Etihad Towers is the flagship boutique store. The high-end jewellery in the Ethihad Towers boutique costs between Dh1 million (US$272,272) and Dh5m. Also, there are a number of cultural institutions coming up in the capital. It is important for us to be a part of the adventure.

What are your expansion plans in the UAE?

We will open another store in Mall of the Emirates in early 2013.

How do you plan to differentiate yourself in the crowded luxury market?

Van Cleef and Arpels is most exclusive in terms of distribution. We have less than 100 boutiques in the world. The high-end jewellery pieces are one of a kind.

With a total of five stores due to be in the UAE, are you not overexposed in this market?

Each store is complementing the other. The Marina Mall [has] a lot of traffic and we want to keep the visibility. The one in Etihad Towers is a destination for sophisticated ladies. For local clients five boutiques do not make sense but Dubai is attracting millions of tourists every year. It is important to be in the Mall of the Emirates and Dubai Mall because of the tourists and there might be many who go to one mall and not the other.

What is your client base in the UAE?

A majority of the clients are from the [Arabian] Gulf, which is good for us because it gives stability.

Any signature necklaces that are unique to the UAE stores?

We got the Archimede necklace for the Etihad Towers store. It is designed after Jules Verne's balloon described in the French author's book Five Weeks in a Balloon on explorations in Africa. The Blue Chalcedony necklace is also a part of the travel collection referring to gazelles of Africa. These are all handcrafted in Paris.

What are your plans for India?

We do not have an outlet in India yet and it is a bit early to open [there] because of the environment of the retail market. But we monitor the market closely.