UAE nationals spend three times more than the average customer on personal shopping services at London Heathrow – splashing out an average of Dh20,215 per visit.
Some 25,555 UAE nationals bought top fashion brands under the guidance of Heathrow’s personal shoppers in the past year, according to data released by the airport.
They represented almost half of the 55,600 people who used the service in the past year.
And 40 per cent of them were men.
But the spending spree comes at a worrying time for the global luxury goods sector, which has been hit hard by declining spending in China, Hong Kong and Russia and weakening tourist activity.
Emirati customers spent an average of £3,400 per visit, compared to £1,200 for the typical personal shopping customer.
“On average, each customer from the UAE visits us twice a year, spending in excess of two hours in a style consultation within our private suites,” said Dana Jaber, a style expert for Heathrow’s Personal Shopping service
“Our Emirati customers are particularly interested in the likes of Burberry, Smythson, Paul Smith and Jo Malone.”
Emiratis also outspent shoppers from other Arabian Gulf nations by a considerable margin, according to the data.
Qataris were the second highest spenders with an average shopping basket worth Dh7,134 and the Saudis with Dh6,879.
More than 80 per cent of personal shopping customers use the service to spend their value-added tax refunds before they fly home.
The buoyant sales figures come amid profit warnings from the luxury goods sector, in which the Middle East is expected to be a rare bright spot for the industry this year.
Worldwide luxury goods sales are expected to grow at their slowest pace in five years, Bain & Company said.
Global sales of personal luxury goods are expected to increase by about 2 per cent this year to €223 billion (Dh1.03 trillion), the slowest pace since 2009.
Britain’s Burberry Group yesterday warned that wholesale revenue would decline in the second half.
At the same time Mulberry, the handbag maker, cut its profit forecast for the third time in a year, citing a drop in tourist shoppers.
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Gulf Men's League final
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Know your camel milk:
Flavour: Similar to goat’s milk, although less pungent. Vaguely sweet with a subtle, salty aftertaste.
Texture: Smooth and creamy, with a slightly thinner consistency than cow’s milk.
Use it: In your morning coffee, to add flavour to homemade ice cream and milk-heavy desserts, smoothies, spiced camel-milk hot chocolate.
Goes well with: chocolate and caramel, saffron, cardamom and cloves. Also works well with honey and dates.
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Boyd Tonkin, Galileo Press
The biog
Simon Nadim has completed 7,000 dives.
The hardest dive in the UAE is the German U-boat 110m down off the Fujairah coast.
As a child, he loved the documentaries of Jacques Cousteau
He also led a team that discovered the long-lost portion of the Ines oil tanker.
If you are interested in diving, he runs the XR Hub Dive Centre in Fujairah
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Price, base: Dh1,731,672
Engine: 6.5-litre V12
Gearbox: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 770hp @ 8,500rpm
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Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
What are NFTs?
Are non-fungible tokens a currency, asset, or a licensing instrument? Arnab Das, global market strategist EMEA at Invesco, says they are mix of all of three.
You can buy, hold and use NFTs just like US dollars and Bitcoins. “They can appreciate in value and even produce cash flows.”
However, while money is fungible, NFTs are not. “One Bitcoin, dollar, euro or dirham is largely indistinguishable from the next. Nothing ties a dollar bill to a particular owner, for example. Nor does it tie you to to any goods, services or assets you bought with that currency. In contrast, NFTs confer specific ownership,” Mr Das says.
This makes NFTs closer to a piece of intellectual property such as a work of art or licence, as you can claim royalties or profit by exchanging it at a higher value later, Mr Das says. “They could provide a sustainable income stream.”
This income will depend on future demand and use, which makes NFTs difficult to value. “However, there is a credible use case for many forms of intellectual property, notably art, songs, videos,” Mr Das says.
England's lowest Test innings
- 45 v Australia in Sydney, January 28, 1887
- 46 v West Indies in Port of Spain, March 25, 1994
- 51 v West Indies in Kingston, February 4, 2009
- 52 v Australia at The Oval, August 14, 1948
- 53 v Australia at Lord's, July 16, 1888
- 58 v New Zealand in Auckland, March 22, 2018
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
FIXTURES
Thu Mar 15 – West Indies v Afghanistan, UAE v Scotland
Fri Mar 16 – Ireland v Zimbabwe
Sun Mar 18 – Ireland v Scotland
Mon Mar 19 – West Indies v Zimbabwe
Tue Mar 20 – UAE v Afghanistan
Wed Mar 21 – West Indies v Scotland
Thu Mar 22 – UAE v Zimbabwe
Fri Mar 23 – Ireland v Afghanistan
The top two teams qualify for the World Cup
Classification matches
The top-placed side out of Papua New Guinea, Hong Kong or Nepal will be granted one-day international status. UAE and Scotland have already won ODI status, having qualified for the Super Six.
Thu Mar 15 – Netherlands v Hong Kong, PNG v Nepal
Sat Mar 17 – 7th-8th place playoff, 9th-10th place play-off
