After the inaugural stop in Amsterdam in 2018, followed by Shanghai in 2019 and New York in 2022, the Altagamma Club project arrives in Dubai: on Friday 3 March, the Burj Al Arab Jumeirah hotel in the Emirate city hosted the fourth meeting of the internationalisation, aimed at promoting the excellence, lifestyle, creativity and quality of Italy in the United Arab Emirates, an ever-expanding market for the luxury industry.
The Foundation’s networking project, which involves 113 Made in Italy excellence brands, is part of the framework agreement between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and Altagamma for the promotion of Made in Italy in the world. Within the Dubai Club, country managers and local representatives of Altagamma member companies will have the opportunity to discuss and develop storytelling activities and business initiatives together.
“This is an important stage in Altagamma’s internationalization process – commented Matteo Lunelli, president of Altagamma, present at the launch of the initiative -. The UAE has been a significant market for the high-end industry for decades and has benefited from the significant growth in the tourism offer in recent years. The personal luxury goods market in the Persian Gulf countries exceeded 10 billion euros in 2022. In particular, Dubai is the city with the highest concentration of high-end international consumers and there is a very strong appreciation for the excellence of Made in Italy and for the Italian lifestyle. Altagamma Club Dubai will be an important platform for networking and sharing best practices and contacts among our members, a place that will promote business opportunities and synergies not only between the Foundation’s brands, but also with partners and local institutions, thanks to the fundamental contribution of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ice Agency».
As anticipated, the luxury market in the area of the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) countries increased on average by 2-3% per year between 2016 and 2021, weighed down by the years of retail slowdown in the Emirates – the first market with almost 50% of spending in the area – and then by the stop caused by the pandemic. But in 2019 and 2021 the average growth rate reached +11%, for a turnover that rose from 7.5 billion euros of expenditure in 2019 to 9.2 in 2021.
After the Emirates, the country from which the largest share of spending on luxury goods comes is Saudi Arabia, with 23% in 2021 and an average annual growth of 11%, followed by Bahrain (10%), Kuwait ( 14%, but with the highest growth rate, equal to +16%) and finally the other countries of the area, namely Bahrain and Oman with an overall share of 4%.