Cosmetics majors open offices in Dafz
These include some of the top names in the glamourous world of cosmetics and fragrance. They are hoping to target the prosperous economies of the UAE and the Gulf countries spurred by a healthy growth in the Middle East cosmetics and personal care sector estimated at 12 per cent annually over the past three years, with a total sales value of Dh 7.7 billion in 2007.
Among those that have chosen Dubai Airport Free Zone are Chanel Limited FZE, Groupe Clarins, Estee Lauder Middle East FZE, P&G Cosmopolitan Cosmetics (Branch), Perfumes Loewe Middle East, Guerlain Middle East, Revlon Middle East, Parfums Givenchy Middle East, Parfums Christian Dior SA, and Elizabeth Arden (Middle East) FZE.
“Cosmetics and fragrance companies are being lured by the tax free and 100 per cent ownership incentives being offered by the Dubai Airport Free Zone,” said Dr Mohammed Al Zarouni, Director General, Dafz.
“Quite a number of these companies are coming and setting up Middle East regional offices in Dubai’s Airport Free Zone. Advantages of setting up a regional office here include our location adjoining Dubai Airport and the easy access to the state-of-the-art Dubai Cargo Village. These factors are proving to be particularly attractive to companies that depend on time-sensitive shipments. We also have a one-stop-shop where investors can get all their documentation for licensing, registration and employee sponsorship done, even online,” Dr Zarouni added.
Estee Lauder’s decision to open initially a branch office, and more recently, a Free Zone company, was a “well thought one”, said Didier Picard, Vice President and General Manager of Estee Lauder ME FZE.
“Besides offering a second to none infrastructure in Dubai, Dubai Airport Free Zone was the ideal place to grow a team of professionals from all over the world to promote our selective cosmetic brands across the Middle East and further,” he said.
Elaborating further, Picard said over the last few years, “Dubai and the GCC in general has become visible at headquarters level.
“This is due to the impressive growth experienced in the region but also more importantly, due to top world-class standards achieved in terms of logistics infrastructure, and of course in our industry, retailing environment.” He added that services and facilities at the Free Zone “have grown rapidly over the past years, resulting in an improvement of the support to companies like ours”. Bruno Tissot, General Manager of Elizabeth Arden Middle East FZE said opening an entity abroad, independently of its size or its mother company structure, “is always an exercise that starts with a blank sheet”.
He added: “The priority, of course, is based on the reliability of the project but we all have this first tendency to always take into account existing business ties and links together with resources and costs related to them.
“By definition a blank sheet allows thinking and moving out of the box and the identification of opportunities with no existing ties or constraints.”
Tissot emphasised that Dafz is offering international companies “unlimited business opportunities with a limited amount of constraints at an acceptable cost level”. On the importance of the Dubai and GCC market to Elizabeth Arden, Tissot explained: “As for the actors present in this industry, the GCC is not only a booming market but also a profitable region. Dubai definitely acts as a trend-setter and influences its neighbouring countries both in consumption and distribution network infrastructure.”
Osama Rinno, Managing Director of Groupe Clarins underlined that the advantages Dubai Airport Free Zone offers are immense and being a tax-free haven is amongst is strongest Unique Selling Points.
Dr Zarouni said: “Research indicates that residents of the UAE and GCC countries are increasingly appearance conscious with over 30,000 salons in GCC spurring demand for beauty products.
“In fact, the consumption of cosmetics and perfumes in the region is ranked among the highest per capita worldwide, with an average purchase per head of around Dh1,226 annually.”