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28 March 2024

Splash, Iconic to hire 950 in GCC

Raza Beig CEO Splash & ICONIC (SUPPLIED)

Published
By Waheed Abbas

Fashion and lifestyle retailers Splash and Iconic will hire 950 people in 2012-13 for 50 outlets to be opened by the two brands across the GCC, said a senior official.

Raza Beig, Chief Executive Officer of Splash & Iconic, said: “In 2012-13, we are opening 35 stores of Splash in the Gulf and about 12 stores of Iconic. For Iconic, we have already signed for 12 outlets but may open a few more. I presume there will be 15 or 18 more. In UAE, we have definitely plans to open outlets in Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain, Al Ain; we are opening in almost every city. This year is aggressive. We’ll recruit in Splash about 700 people and in Iconic another 250 people.”

Splash and Iconic, part of well-diversified Landmark Group, have 32 and 12 stores, respectively, across the Gulf.

When asked how the leading retailers will go about hiring new talent, Beig said the group will capitalise on social websites such as Facebook which are a major source for talent hunt these days.

“Thanks to social media; I personally get a lot of good talent on Facebook. I would get 2-3 job requests a day. In think social network has made it so easy. We put a message on FB or sent a BB message.

Splash also has Open Day from time to time. When we have Open Day, I receive about 10 messages a day that Splash is having an Open Day. We also have agencies in the Philippines, India and Egypt. We use every medium, so if any body puts a CV, they would definitely get a call. I make sure my HR calls every body,” he added.

In an interview with Emirates 24l7, Beig said the group is also taking franchise to other countries with to first phase to begin in African countries.

“Our first phase of franchise is Africa; we are looking at Kenya, Egypt, Uganda, Tanzania, Sri Lanka and two-three more African countries. We’ll be spending about 18-22 months on this belt. In the second phase, we will be expanding to Southeast Asia. Our doors are open and are willing to talk to anyone who would love Splash as their business in the country.”

Cut-throat competition

Beig said on the high market, it’s becoming very tough as there is cut-throat competition. “The consumer has seriously matured and that is the biggest trend I have seen. Maturity level has so much grown that if you change a tone colour wrong, they reject it. There is so much variety available and the local consumer is also good at window shopping. They are buying only which is in season and in fashion – nothing off-fashion works. We have seen consumer spending increased Market is very vibrant and buoyant.”

Of late, Splash has made some very dramatic changes in its business module including new store design, new monogram, branding, new sourcing, quality and price strategies and new brands.

“Last year we conducted a research of about 1,000 consumers; we asked them what they liked about us. What came across was the strong loyalty for brand Splash. And when we asked about our in-house brand, they didn’t really care. They came to Splash thinking that they have good fashion, great value and great variety - everything they needed in daily need. Therefore we decided to consolidate our in-house brands.

“We have given new categories to the consumers called Smart, Boutique and Vintage. When the research was conducted we tested it with accessories and saw sales went up. We changed our basics and again sales went up. So in this March, we changed all our products and labelled them Splash and witnessed 23 per cent growth.”

The rebranding was initiated in December and completed by March.

“Earlier every shop had different look, now all the stores have same look. Very soon you will see 5-6 stores in UAE with new formats with completely new fit-outs.”

“The stores will be a reflection of our biggest event, the Splash Fashion Show. The new layout is a way of  giving our fashion savvy clientele a chance to re-live each of the moments in the comfort of the store while shopping the season’s collection. Highlighting similar collections the concept will also make navigation and shopping in Splash an enjoyable experience as the stores will follow a very trend oriented format. We are also adding elements like multimedia, digital mirrors and make-up corners in order to further engage the customer,” Beig added.