Anna Gedman is the founder and managing director of Beauty Solutions Trading and Consulting, which sources beauty products not available in the UAE. Originally from the United Kingdom, Ms Gedman arrived in Dubai in 2006 to work as the marketing and procurement manager at Middle East Premium Cosmetics – owned by Alshaya – before setting up her own firm in 2008. Here she discusses the fast-growing UAE beauty market where per capita spending on beauty and personal care is set to grow at an average rate of 6.5 per cent a year between 2012-13 and 2017-18, according to the market intelligence firm Euromonitor International. By comparison, per capita spending will grow at an average rate of 2.7 per cent in the United States and 2.5 per cent in the UK during the same period.
How do you identify the brands you want to bring here?
We look to other markets, to Women’s Wear Daily (a fashion trade journal) to see what’s happening globally; and we look to see what bloggers are writing about, especially local ones. If we see a trend and nothing in the market fits that trend, then we look for a brand that fits. We tend to go for the brand that’s the most premium and the most effective in the category.
Is it easy to convince brands to move into the UAE?
We get approached by about five brands a week. They range from the well-known to very niche ones. Everybody’s looking for new and up-and-coming markets. We have our eye on certain brands that we would like to bring here and then it’s a case of going to them to see if they are ready. I don’t think it’s hard to sign brands; what’s more challenging is finding the right retail partner – Sephora or Harvey Nichols or wherever – and fitting into their schedule. We deal with a number of companies that have their founder present and often they like to be very involved and we have weekly calls about how we should position the brand. Some brands are more comfortable with handing over; they put a lot of trust into you and allow you to set the pricing and come up with the strategy.
What companies do you work with where the founder is still involved?
We’ve just launched Hersheson. The founder is Daniel Hersheson who has a salon in London on Conduit Street for 23 years and he was Princess Catherine’s hairdresser until some time ago. His son, Luke Hersheson, who works with Sienna Miller and Kate Moss, created the Hershesons’ brand which is a range of hair extensions and accessories. Another one is Ciaté, which was founded by Charlotte Knight. We were in London with her recently to work on an exclusive for the region.
What differentiates the UAE beauty market?
Newness has always been key in the Middle East; people love the latest thing. Emiratis travel a lot and they see new brands. Years ago we used to be six months to a year behind Europe on new launches but now you will even see some brands wanting to launch here first or creating limited editions, especially luxury versions of the original version, just for this market.
What trends will be big this year?
A basic trend for this year is sculpting. Traditionally people apply foundation and blusher and bronzer on top but professionals have learnt how to sculpt the face by the way they apply darkness and light. A lot of make-up ranges have developed a sculpting product and sculpting brushes. Masques and serums are having a big revival this year. There are a lot of new developments in make-up in terms of ease of application. The Ciaté make-up range is all about make-up on the go.
Do you see any local entrepreneurs launching their own ranges?
Shiffa was one of the first a few years ago. It’s a range of body products that a local lady [Lamees Hamdan] created. Last year, the UAE-based Lebanese entrepreneur, Rima Khoreibi, launched Micaroon, a range of products inspired by the macaroon cookie; and Chelsea Boutique, which has offices in Abu Dhabi, created a range of brow products, to highlight the brow. It’s a very challenging thing to do – create a brand that will stand up against the big players like the Estee Lauder Companies and Procter and Gamble – but it’s definitely doable.
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