Giordano plans expansion in Middle East

20 May '11

3 min read

Giordano Fashions LLC., a leading international retailer of casual apparel, is venturing into e-retailing with the introduction of e-shopping through its website this year. This will enable customers to purchase their favourite Giordano items at their convenience from their offices or homes.

Simultaneously, the company is upgrading its global card less customer loyalty programme 'World Without Strangers (WWS)'. Introduced in 2007, the programme allows members to earn points and receive discounts. The WWS currently has over 4 million members worldwide and over 200,000 in the Middle East, who contribute to around 20 percent of Giordano sales in the region.

Continuing with its strategy to build its regional business assets by investing in its physical presence, Giordano is also planning strategic store expansion across the Middle East region by opening at least 10 more stores in 2011. The company has already undertaken upgradation of existing stores and opening of new stores in both current and new markets.

In 2011, the company has already renovated six stores, and has opened five new stores in the UAE, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia. The company's first stores in Morocco and Iraq have also sprung up. The company also plans to make an entry into the Sri Lankan market this year by opening its first store in Colombo.

In a short span of 18 years, when it opened its first store in the UAE, Giordano has grown to over 190 stores in the UAE. One of its outlets was even awarded 'Best Service Performing Outlet' for good customer service standards under the Dubai Service Excellence Scheme in the apparel category.

Explaining the reasons for his company's exponential growth, Ishwar Chugani, Executive Director of Giordano says, “Our strength comes from our core values of knowledge, innovation, quality, excellent customer service and simplicity."

The company has adopted a strategy to reach out to its potential customers by capitalizing on various social media channels including Giordano Blog, Middle East Facebook page, Twitter, and YouTube.

The company's Middle East Facebook page, which currently has 29,000 fans and is expected to grow to 50,000 by the year-end, provides an opportunity to have daily interactions with customers on a direct and personal basis.

Chugani adds, “Our Facebook interactions are very important to know and understand what the customers thoughts are, to enable us to provide the products and services they really want."

With over 2,200 stores worldwide, Giordano has a global presence and is strongly pursuing plans to grow in the Middle East region by capitalizing on its brand heritage.

In the words of Mr. Chugani, "Giordano is a strong international brand, where we constantly need to evolve and assess our relationships and interfaces with customer, and get our products closer to them. We recognize the importance of the digital world and the phenomenal influence it has on consumer decision-making. That is why, we want to ensure that Giordano maximizes the potential of both the digital world and the social media in the Middle East.”

Fibre2fashion News Desk - India

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