It's built up a cult following with its festival-friendly designs, and now fashion fans in the UAE will soon be able to get their hands on Urban Outfitters' trend-setting collections.
The American brand, which has more than 240 stores across the world, will make its Middle Eastern debut next month, it has confirmed.
A unique concept store spanning more than 1,000 square metres will open at The Dubai Mall in early September. Frontage for the shop has already been erected; it will sit underneath the Kinokuniya book store, close to & Other Stories.
Urban Outfitters, which was first founded as a shop and community centre on a US college campus in 1970, is known for its free-spirited womenswear collections, bohemian homeware and on-trend menswear.
The UAE store will stock Urban Outfitters' in-house brands, such as BDG, as well as a number of popular labels including Champion, Fila, Calvin Klein and Vans. It will also sell several eclectic high-end names, such as House Of Holland, as well as Urban Outfitters' Renewal vintage line.
The brand is expected to expand across the region in the future, with stores in Kuwait, Bahrain and Lebanon, after its UAE launch.
News that the multi-national brand would be coming to the Gulf first broke late last year, when locally based Azadea Group announced a partnership.
At the time of the announcement, Azadea Group's chief executive Said G Daher said: "As there continues to be a high demand for experiential concepts, we believe Urban Outfitters will be very well received by our customers across the MENA region."
The company already locally manages international brands such as Bershka, Mango and Salsa, plus plenty more. This also includes Missguided, the popular UK fashion brand that recently set up shop at The Dubai Mall.
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
What is cyberbullying?
Cyberbullying or online bullying could take many forms such as sending unkind or rude messages to someone, socially isolating people from groups, sharing embarrassing pictures of them, or spreading rumors about them.
Cyberbullying can take place on various platforms such as messages, on social media, on group chats, or games.
Parents should watch out for behavioural changes in their children.
When children are being bullied they they may be feel embarrassed and isolated, so parents should watch out for signs of signs of depression and anxiety
How to get exposure to gold
Although you can buy gold easily on the Dubai markets, the problem with buying physical bars, coins or jewellery is that you then have storage, security and insurance issues.
A far easier option is to invest in a low-cost exchange traded fund (ETF) that invests in the precious metal instead, for example, ETFS Physical Gold (PHAU) and iShares Physical Gold (SGLN) both track physical gold. The VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF invests directly in mining companies.
Alternatively, BlackRock Gold & General seeks to achieve long-term capital growth primarily through an actively managed portfolio of gold mining, commodity and precious-metal related shares. Its largest portfolio holdings include gold miners Newcrest Mining, Barrick Gold Corp, Agnico Eagle Mines and the NewMont Goldcorp.
Brave investors could take on the added risk of buying individual gold mining stocks, many of which have performed wonderfully well lately.
London-listed Centamin is up more than 70 per cent in just three months, although in a sign of its volatility, it is down 5 per cent on two years ago. Trans-Siberian Gold, listed on London's alternative investment market (AIM) for small stocks, has seen its share price almost quadruple from 34p to 124p over the same period, but do not assume this kind of runaway growth can continue for long
However, buying individual equities like these is highly risky, as their share prices can crash just as quickly, which isn't what what you want from a supposedly safe haven.
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
