Dubai’s MAF To Open Canadian Brand Lululemon Stores In ME

The first lululemon athletica store is slated to open in Dubai later this year.

February 16, 2015

Dubai-based retailer Majid Al Futtaim announced that its fashion unit has signed an agreement with Canadian brand lululemon athletica to open its stores in the Middle East.

Under the five-year deal, MAF has an exclusive license to open lululemon stores and showrooms in five countries across the region including the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman and Kuwait.

The first store is set to open in Dubai in fall 2015, a statement said.

Founded in Vancouver in 1998, lululemon athletica sells yoga-inspired technical athletic apparel for women and men. It has 289 stores and 50 showrooms globally, and also features interactive fitness and yoga classes and in-store events.

Rajiv Suri, CEO of Majid Al Futtaim Fashion, said: “This partnership will introduce the lululemon brand to the region for the first time, and we are confident it will establish and build a loyal following here by creating great moments for the rapidly growing healthy and active lifestyle community.”

Laurent Potdevin, CEO of lululemon athletica added: “We continue to focus on accelerating lululemon’s global expansion. For certain key markets and countries, we will pursue licensing partnerships to support our international growth strategy.”

MAF Fashion has been growing operations within the MENA region, and has signed deals with several prominent international brands.

Last month, it inked a partnership with the Authentic Brands Group to expand the luxury lifestyle brand Juicy Couture in the Middle East.

MAF Fashion said that it will focus on opening more Juicy Couture stores in the region, add a new footwear and intimates line to the brand’s Middle East network, and have an active ecommerce section with both omni-channel and wholesale online accounts to help extend the brand’s reach.

The conglomerate also works with other global brands such as Abercrombie & Fitch Co., Hollister, HOSS Intropia, Halston Heritage and Jane Norman. It recently announced franchise partnerships with retail brands AllSaints and Maisons du Monde.

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