Damas turns attention from Europe to UAE

Damas, the UAE jewellery retailer, has shifted resources for its expansion plans this year out of Europe to closer to home because of the global downturn, the company’s deputy managing director, Tamjid Abdullah, said.

Instead of adding outlets in France, Switzerland and the UK, Damas will open even more new stores to those originally planned in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Egypt, Libya and Sudan, Mr Abdullah said. “The expansion has been concentrated in countries where we think it is more feasible,” he said.

Gold and jewellery sales in the UAE have fallen this year, with April’s sales down as much as 40 per cent in Dubai and 15 per cent in Abu Dhabi, according to retailers, who say the decline is due to the higher price of gold, fewer tourists, and local residents reducing discretionary spending.