Dubai gets Tahiti Perlesa a Robert Wan Wan Gallery Boutique

JUMAIRA PLAZA BOUTIQUE - A REGIONAL FIRST

January 14, 2003

Dubai - The first Tahiti Perlesâ gallery boutique in the Middle East was opened by Sheikh Hasher bin Maktoum al Maktoum, Director General, Department of Information, Government of Dubai, at the Jumaira Plaza shopping mall, on Dubai's Beach Road. Tahiti Perlesâ is the exclusive retail arm of legendary pearl producer Robert Wan's jewellery empire. Wan himself attended the opening ceremony. The concept of a combined art gallery and exclusive jewellery boutique is new to the Middle East.

Wan, the world's largest single producer and exporter of Tahiti cultured pearls, chose Dubai for his first gallery boutique in the Middle East, in response to high demand for his unique and rare jewellery. "Black pearls are as rare as the people who wear them. Secret affinities exist between things and beings. So I dedicate my necklaces of black pearls from Tahiti to women who are capable of recognising perfection," said Wan. The gallery boutique covers 110 square metres and features a luxurious design based around the theme of an island, to reflect the pearls' origin - Tahiti. The concept of the gallery boutique came from renowned artist Ranieri Ceccarelli, known as Néri, from Italian design studio, Controcorrente. Controcorrente has been charged with creating future gallery boutiques for Tahiti Perlesâ in the region.

"The gallery boutique will also serve as a fine arts exhibition centre, featuring a different range of stunning works of art regularly," said Mrs. Pascale Brichet, Managing Director, Tahiti Perlesâ. The unique gallery experience begins next month (February) with a display of fountain pens crafted by revered French sculptor and artist Michel Audiard from precious materials, including rare mother-of-pearl. Just as each Robert Wan pearl is unique, so is the new gallery boutique.
Dubai's Tahiti Perlesâ is the latest addition to the exclusive chain of Tahitian pearl jewellery boutiques in French Polynesia and Hawaii and themed kiosks in Beverly Hills, Sydney and Andorra.

"Clients of Tahiti Perlesâ feel like members of an exclusive club of connoisseurs. When they choose a Robert Wan necklace, they benefit from the attentive service and availability of our gifted specialists," continued Brichet. The exalted jewellery designs of Van Cleef & Arpels, Harry Winston and Chaumet, amongst others, feature Wan's pearls, and top designers such as Karl Lagerfeld feature Wan's jewellery in their catwalk collections. Falaknaz Investment Group exclusively distributes Robert Wan's Tahiti Perlesâ brand throughout the UAE.

Falaknaz Investment Group Vice President, Mohammed Falaknaz said: "Today marks the re-kindling of Dubai's traditional association with pearls. Tahiti Perles brings something fresh and new to a market crowded with more conventional jewellery." Wan's exports from the Tahitian Atolls are valued in excess of US $50 million every year. The Falaknaz Investment Group plans to further expand the brand presence with the opening of another Tahiti Perlesâ outlet in Bur Dubai's Bur Juman shopping mall extension, set to open later this year.

(L to R) Robert Wan, HE Sheikh Hasher bin Maktoum al Maktoum, Abdul Rahman Falaknaz and Mohammed Falaknaz keralamonitor.com

Technology Industry Set to Support GCC in Customs Transition Period

Dubai, 14th January 2003

GCC Customs Union will drive new growth in the region’s technology markets
and create significant new opportunities for FDI (Foreign Direct Investment)
and local technology sector growth according to Tech Data managing director
Steve Lockie. “As a single customs union market, the GCC consolidates six
former country markets into a trading block that has real economic muscle,”
said Lockie. “For us in the technology industry, that means a clearer and
more compelling regional opportunity and therefore increases the potential
for investment in the region.”

Tech Data, which represents over 20 leading IT multinationals active in the
Middle East region, has already launched initiatives in support of computer
product resellers in the region as they manage the transition to the new
customs union. The company has now also confirmed that it is prepared to
expose its records and databases to allow the GCC authorities to have access
to full lists of computer and technology products as well as their ‘official
’ list prices. Tech Data’s advanced technology infrastructure has the
capability to allow customs officials to access price lists directly,
supporting efficient revenue collection in the new union.

“The customs union move means we can foresee an end to many aspects of the
‘grey market’ that has done so much to impede the development of our local
market. With a little work and co-operation, we can now bring an end to
practises such as under-invoicing that are draining the industry and
governments alike of their rightful revenues,” said Lockie. “In the case of
the industry, those revenues have the potential to be used to build services
and added value for consumers.”

Resulting in a more competitive market and with economies of scale being
passed on to consumers in the GCC, the customs union has also meant a
transition period of three years being built into the pan-regional agreement
in order that ‘teething problems’ can be sorted out. With customers across
the region served from Tech Data’s hubs in Jebel Ali and Bahrain, the
company reports that it has encountered few hurdles in the move to the new
union. “There have been problems, of course, but they have been minimal,”
says Lockie. “One of the reasons we have worked to reduce shipping costs for
our customers in the region was to see them through an anticipated difficult
early phase, but we been surprised at how smooth the transition has been so
far.”