Longchamp, the French luxury leather goods brand, announced the visit of its CEO to mark the first anniversary of its stand-alone boutique in Dubai Mall – the region’s most prestigious retail destination.
The 80 sqm. flagship boutique which opened in partnership with Allied Enterprises LLC in November 2008 was visited by Jean Cassegrain, Longchamp’s CEO and Stephane Beraud, Longchamp’s International Director. As part of the event, the Gatsby ‘IT’ bag was showcased along with a sneak preview of Longchamp’s new range of high-end, luxury bags from the Spring-Summer 2010 collection.
“The Middle East is a fascinating market and we are very encouraged by the growth the brand has achieved in the last few years. This is our 2nd stand-alone boutique in the UAE and we’re very committed about our continued expansion in this region” commented Jean during the in-store press conference.
Longchamp started out when founder Jean Cassegrain initiated the manufacture of the erstwhile famous leather bound smoking pipe in 1948. While the 1950′s saw the brand extend its repertoire to small leather goods, it was only later in the 1970′s that Longchamp became popular for its stylish and lightweight travel bags and in particular its signature Pliage bag. In the following years, Longchamp expanded operations to 98 countries across the globe and transitioned into a sleek luxury brand with its handbags, belts, gloves, ties, scarves and woman’s ready-to-wear. More recently, the brand created a stir with its daring Autumn-Winter 2009 advertising campaign with supermodels Daria Werbowy alongside Kate Moss, Longchamp’s iconic face for the past three years.
In spite of the brand’s impressive global expansion, Longchamp continues to stay true to its Parisian spirit and remain a family business with Jean Cassegrain as the third generation to carry on the family tradition. Talking about the future plans of the brand, Jean enthused, “Longchamp has had an illustrious history (it was founded by my grandfather in 1948) and over the last 60 years, the brand has successfully carved a niche for itself in the leather goods market. In Europe we have already expanded into a ready-to-wear collection for women and next year we hope to introduce the Spring-Summer 2010 collection to this region as well”
Longchamp’s expansion in the Middle East began in 2008 with the opening of its first boutique in Dubai . Today the brand has strong commercial presence in UAE, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Egypt with an existing network of 3 mono-brand boutiques and 6 multi-brand corners.
In addition to the new boutique in Dubai Mall, Longchamp is available in Bur Juman boutique and selected Tagz outlets across the region.
Source: news release
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