‘Siege has opened up opportunities’

DOHA: More than 200 days into the blockade, some local companies said it has done more good than harm, strengthening their position in the Qatari market and opening up business opportunities for other countries as well.
“For us as an events company, the blockade has not made a single difference. What I see from my contacts from day to day that I deal with designers not only from Qatar but internationally, they are really interested to come and open new businesses here. They see it as a new opportunity,” Primrose Fernandes, Account Executive, Design Creationz.
Design Creationz is a leading local events management, marketing and consultancy company specialised in high end fashion, known for organising fashion events such as Heya Arabian Fashion Exhibition which gathers a huge number of designers and brands from around the world.
Italian, Spanish and German brands as well as brands from Hong Kong, Indonesia, China, Malaysia, Lebanon and Turkey have expressed interest in coming and starting a business here, added Fernandes.
“Because of Heya we are in direct contact with designers and they really want to start businesses here. They see this blockade as an opportunity for them to start business here, and it’s really interesting,” she said.
The 12th edition of Heya in November last year saw many international brands who took part as well as a 25 percent increase in the number of local participants.
“We haven’t felt a bit of the blockade. It hasn’t affected us at all and business still growing,” said Fernandes, who was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the recent Arabian Fashion Show at this year’s Shop Qatar.
Pooja Adam, Marketing and PR Manager at QLabel, a local fashion brand, was of the same view saying the blockade has spurred business.
“Because we are a small brand, we get to cater to our clients. We have lots of clients since the blockade because as a brand based in Qatar we can get the goods delivered to our clients in 24 hours,” said Adam.
On Qatar Tourism Authority’s (QTA) efforts to promote local entrepreneurs, she said: “We do believe that QTA has helped us elevate our brand within the market during this time. It’s very important for us to be in partnership with them.”
Adam lauded Shop Qatar for providing “a platform to elevate our brand to the Qatari audience as t is important for us to be seen by Qataris as like a benchmark for modest wear.”
As a young company which has been in the market for a year, QLabel has been receiving great response from Qataris. “The response is great. Actually, 90 percent of our customers are Qataris. What we do is provide home service so we get to see them directly, show our collection, and cater to their needs which they like and works for them,” said Adam.