Fortnum & Mason in Qatar

Over the past few years, Qatar's thriving retail industry has attracted a large number of major brands.

Fortnum & Mason, one of London's most prominent and respected departments stores open its first branch in Qatar ahead of the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

This weekend, a high-end retail establishment will open in the new Place Vendome neighborhood, in Lusail. It comes as a joint venture with a business partner, and you'll have a café that sells a variety of items, like gleaming non-alcoholic tea and premium chocolate.

The Parisian-inspired mall, which will open its doors to shoppers on Friday, April 15 in the heart of Lusail City, is Qatar's newest shopping destination.

The Grocers Queen is best known for her store at 181 Piccadilly in London, which has been in business for over 300 years. One of the best-world-renowned trading centers, with royal powers from The Queen and the Prince of Wales.

The announcement of the new store was followed by concerns about Qatari man rights records, especially those relating to immigrant workers. “All those issues are very important to us, whether that is employee well-being or gender equality, ”said Chief Executive Tom Athron.

He also stated that the relationship was kept in the same manner as any other. "As long as we take Qatar, they say, they welcome everyone, but they only ask that people respect their laws and customs when they are in their middle country, and that is the same in other locations," said Athron.

The international presence of Fortnum & Mason is limited. It works in three small shops in Beijing and one in Hong Kong. It also has partnerships in Australia as well Japan.

This will not be its first presence in the Gulf. Recently it had a branch in Dubai. However, the store closed in 2017.

Athron mentioned that he had no intention to open additional stores, but that physical retail was "alive and kicking" in the Middle East and that additional branches could be opened if management believed they would be financially beneficial. He emphasized that the company's focus remains on expanding its online operations.

 Customers come from all over the world to shop at our cutting-edge department store. The United States, Europe, and the Middle East, particularly Qatar, are the most affected.

Moving to Qatar prior to the FIFA World Cup, which begins in November, will boost the product's global visibility.

The establishment's year-old managers have been in discussions with possible franchise partners across the country since January 2022.

Fortnum & Mason suffered a large loss as a result of the pandemic. There have been layoffs as a result of this. This has, however, always been the case. Its web company has made significant progress.

"We'll have to hike some charges," Athron said, noting that transportation costs had risen.

Other Fortnum assets were produced at a pace of 5 to 10% higher than previously.