Majid Al Futtaim, a leader in fashion, shopping mall, communities, and leisure segment across the Middle East, Africa, and Asia, has announced a strategic partnership with Poltrona Frau, the century-old luxury Italian furniture brand renowned for setting the global standard in leather interiors.
As part of the agreement, Majid Al Futtaim Lifestyle has acquired the rights to Poltrona Frau products in the UAE, marking its first entry into the Luxury Home category, and pivoting the iconic Italian brand to a new era of growth across the Middle East. Poltrona Frau’s worldwide expansion strategies have seen the brand become an internationally influential benchmark, boasting 15 flagship stores, 165 single-brand stores and around 280 multibrand stores across the five continents. Continuing on its success, Poltrona Frau saw a 20% growth in revenue in 2022, compared to 2021, due to a strong increase within the brand’s residential unit and a strong recovery of public projects.
As part of Majid Al Futtaim Lifestyle’s expansion plans for Poltrona Frau, the Company will bring the legacy of Italian excellence to some of the best shopping destinations in the region, including the opening of a Poltrona Frau flagship showroom in Mall of the Emirates later this year. In addition, the brand’s existing Jumeirah store will be expanded and transformed, inspired by the iconic Poltrona Frau Via Manzoni showroom.
With the group highly focused on leveraging technology to automate and make retail processes agile, Fahed Ghanim, Chief Executive Officer of Majid Al Futtaim Lifestyle, mentioned “We already have a lot of AI and advanced analysis built in our backend that helps us predict the market and understand customer behaviour better. This helps us revolutionise our brand’s presence even within the luxury segment. While we admit that store front rules when it comes to luxury, but we will leverage AR/VR and eventually connect the Poltrona Frau offline stores to an online store to further enhance the customer experience.”
An omnichannel approach is what the group is aiming to achieve with Poltrono Frau’s retail footprint and is robust about 30% of the brand’s sale attributing to retail as compared to bespoke orders. Founded in 1912 in Turin (Italy), Poltrona Frau has given more than a century of life and culture to leather, meticulously following an industry-leading 21-step tanning process to create timeless pieces which express universal yet personal elegance and stand out for their savoir-faire. The brand’s leadership in the global leather industry led to the coinage of the term Poltrona Frau Leathership® and its exquisite craftsmanship adorns some of the world’s iconic museums, hotels, theatres, embassies, travel lounges, airline interiors as well as the bespoke upholstery of automotive giants such as Ferrari, Maserati, Alfa Romeo, Land Rover, to name just a few.
Nicola Coropulis, Chief Executive Officer of Poltrona Frau said: “The partnership with Majid Al Futtaim is the first step of a journey that aims to cement Poltrona Frau as the ultimate luxury lifestyle brand in the UAE, and the Middle East, and provide the most elite customers with exclusive solutions for their homes, offices and public spaces based on excellent quality and service. We believe Majid Al Futtaim Lifestyle’s vast ecosystem and its ability to interpret the true spirit of a brand and, ultimately, their people, will help elevate Poltrona Frau to the next level and accelerate our growth strategy across the region.”
The expansion of Majid Al Futtaim Lifestyle compliments the group’s existing portfolio, which includes eight leading franchise brands, two homegrown brands and more than 70 stores across the GCC spanning fashion, home, multi-brand, specialty retail and beauty, as well as 18 online platforms. Over the past five years, Majid Al Futtaim Lifestyle has refreshed its portfolio strategy and the business has hit countless milestones, including recording year-on-year, double-digit growth and registering more than US $217 million in sales in 2022 alone. With the new brand acquisition and an ambitious plan for 2023, Majid Al Futtaim Lifestyle is now well- positioned to address future demands by leveraging its growing portfolio and multi-channel capabilities.
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