Dunhill strengthens organisation in North America, the Middle East

By

Dominique Muret

Translated by
Nicola Mira

Published
Nov 29, 2017

Alfred Dunhill has powered up its organisation in the Americas and the Middle East. The British luxury label, owned by the Richemont group and led by Andrew Maag, after appointing British designer Mark Weston as Creative Director a season ago, has now announced another two important appointments, and the creation of two new positions, as it seeks to accelerate its expansion in North America and the Middle East.

Dunhill has recently poached Mathieu Kraut, Gucci's General Brand Manager in charge of the retail business, and put him at the head of the Americas region as President. Kraut "will focus on expanding Dunhill's business in the Americas, via targeted retail growth in key cities and by pursuing the development of wholesale partnerships in the USA and Canada," as the label stated in a press release.

The label also announced that in autumn 2018 it plans to open a store in Vancouver, Canada, where Dunhill is renowned for its signature lighters and classic English suits.

Another strategic appointment is that of Georges Barakat as Brand Manager for the Middle East, India, Turkey, Africa and Russia (MEITAR) region. Barakat, formerly with L'Oréal, was previously Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa at Samsung. "His mission is to expand the brand's presence in the Middle East and explore fresh business opportunities on new markets for Dunhill London," wrote the label. Already on the cards is the extension of the Dunhill store inside the Mall of the Emirates in Dubai, adding a barber area and an Alfie's Café bar.

Dunhill is also about to create the position of Global Private Client Manager, in order to strengthen its range of customer services and experiences. The new role will be akin to that of "a luxury concierge, linking digital and physical retail and creating a heightened, fully connected and integrated customer experience."

Finally, Dunhill will recruit a new director for the architecture and interior decoration of its stores, tasked with updating the label's monobrand retail network worldwide and leading the deployment of a new store concept. The latter was recently unveiled in Beijing, with the opening of a Dunhill store inside the Beijing SKP shopping mall.