Style file: Pride of Kashmir
Pradeep Gupta, Vice-President of lifestyle store Pride of Kashmir, has been in the UAE for just 18 months, but with more than 25 years experience in fashion and luxury brand retailing he knows a thing or two about what buyers want. With year-on-year double digit growth and Middle East expansion plans for the next two years, Gupta is confident the company, which was launched in the UAE in 1980, can continue to live up to its reputation of professionalism and quality.
Responsible for all operational, marketing and merchandising functions at Pride of Kashmir, Gupta spoke to Emirates Business about overseeing the recent launch of famous Greek accessories store Alexi Andriotti at Dubai Festival City.
Explain the new brand you have just brought to the UAE? Alexi Andriotti is already a successful accessory brand throughout Europe, known for it's high-end but affordable products such as belts, jewellery, gloves, hair accessories, hats, wallets and watches. The company's universal appeal has resulted in rapid expansion since it launched in 1982. The store has 70 outlets throughout Greece, Italy, Holland and Scotland. It also has a branch in Saudi Arabia, but the DFC store is the first in the UAE.
Who is your target market? And is there a need for another accessories store? We believe Alexi Andriotti is very different from what is already available in the UAE. We are targeting a young, trendy audience who like to look fashionable but also slightly different. Our range of versatile and exotic products will also appeal to older woman and to men. I like to think of it as the kind of place a mother and daughter can go to together.
What do you credit the success of Pride of Kashmir with? Like any business there has been a natural progression and with that has come sales and success. We know our products and our target buyers. They are fashionably conscious not just in terms of what they wear but also in the style of their home. They are affluent and connoisseurs of contemporary and traditional art and craftsmanship. Because we know the market we have developed and grown substantially, we now have five stores in the most prestigious locations in Dubai.
What are the expansion plans for the group? I have just supervised the opening of Cashmir, an entirely cashmere-based lifestyle outlet and one of Pride Group's new ventures, which has just opened in Souk Al Bahar in Downtown Dubai. I am also hoping to oversee the opening of five new Alexi Andriotti stores in the GCC in the next two years.
Who do you believe has great style? Rohit Bal is a wonderful designer. During my time at fashion house Inter-craft Ltd in India I was part of a team responsible for making the designer-label concept more mainstream in the Subcontinent and I believe that Bal, alongside other Indian designers, has put Indian fashion and style on the map.