giordano records best year in 2007
Sales and Expansion reach an all time high in Middle East
Giordano Middle East announced 2007 as a year of growth at their recent annual regional meeting. Giordano, one of the world’s leading international retailer of apparel and accessories, witnessed double digit growth in their various markets globally with the Middle East achieving a 24 % top line growth, it’s highest ever.
“The growth in the Middle East has been fantastic and we have no plans of slowing down. We plan on targeting other emerging markets in the region and hope to achieve greater growth in 2008. We are looking forward to the New Year“, says Ishwar Chugani, Executive Director for Giordano, Middle East and Africa
Giordano has expanded significantly in the Middle East in 2007 by launching 12 new stores during the year. Giordano aims to have 150 stores operating in the region by the end of the year and by 2010, they expect to increase that number to 200. After recently launching in Egypt, Giordano also plans to expand their exsting operations in Bulgaria, Armenia, and Algeria as well as enter into new markets like Libya, Azerbaijan, and Africa.
In India, the group has opened their third store in Ahmadabad earlier this year and 2 more stores in Delhi and Mumbai this month. Giordano now operates 5 stores in India with plans to increase this to 35 stores by 2010.
While Giordano’s expansion plan is running its course, they are also committed to improving the stores they already have open. Management is planning to invest AED 50 million to renovate and upgrade existing stores in the region. The
plan is set to improve the total shopping experience at Giordano stores and support this by providing more variety to customers .
To encourage the growth in the Middle East, Giordano has invested in two warehouses in Dubai, one in Al Quoz (20,000 square feet) which will serve the local market and one in Dubai Investment Park (10,000 square feet) to serve the Middle East market. The warehouses will be used for logistics and distribution purposes and will also be used for markets in India, North Africa, Central Asia, and Eastern Europe.
Giordano has achieved great accolades in the Middle East. The company has received service excellence awards in a number of categories with ‘ Best Service Performance Brand ‘ in the large business category and the ‘ Best Service Performance Outlet ‘ for the store at Wafi Mall , to name a few . Giordano was also the first apparel retailer to receive the Dubai Quality Appreciation Programme award and later in 2004, Giordano became one of the first retailers to be nominated for the Dubai Service Excellence Scheme for its service in Dubai. The achievements for Giordano reinstated the fact that they are one of the premier retailers around the globe.
Another achievement for Giordano in 2007 was the opening of their first outlet store in the Middle East. The store located in the Dubai Outlet Mall is approx. 1700 square feet. The store offers a wider range of Giordano apparel and accessories from some of their latest collections.
Since the establishment of Giordano in the Middle East in 1993, Giordano has grown significantly and after great success in 2007, there are further plans to build on the Middle East market and expand their retail presence throughout the region.
Chugani adds, “The future is bright for Giordano. With many exciting plans for the upcoming years, we hope to surpass the success of 2007. We want to keep growing at the same pace in the coming years”
gentech reports 500 per cent g
