Giordano ushers in new era of e-tail

Giordano, one of the region’s leading apparel retailers, is reinventing itself with plans to enter e-tailing as it continues to build its regional business assets by implementing strategic store expansion and refurbishment plans.

As part of the company’s venture into the world of digital media, Giordano is introducing e-shopping via its website www.giordano-me.com this year, strengthening its card less customer loyalty programme World Without Strangers (WWS), and, reaching out to thousands of customers through various digital and social media channels like Facebook, Twitter, Blogs and YouTube. 

With a dual strategy to also invest in its physical presence in the region, Giordano has intensified upgrades of current stores and plan to open at least six more stores in 2011.

Ishwar Chugani, Executive Director, Giordano Fashions LLC., said: “Giordano is a strong international brand and to maintain our market leading position, we constantly need to evolve and assess our relationships and interfaces with customer, and get our products closer to them.  We recognize the importance and the depth of the digital world as well as the phenomenal influence on consumer decision-making and that is why we want to ensure that Giordano maximizes the potential of both the social media and digital world here in the Middle East.  

“It is also heartwarming to know that Giordano has the power to generate substantial numbers of supporters on social media platforms.  Through YouTube, Twitter, our Giordano Blog and our Middle East Facebook page which currently has 29,000 fans and expected to grow to 50,000 by the end of this year, we now have direct and personal interactions with our customers on a daily basis.  For us, it is very important to know and understand what their thoughts are to enable us to provide the products and services they really want,” added Chugani.

Digital marketing is not new to Giordano as evidenced by its global card less customer loyalty programme, WWS introduced in 2007.  The programme, which allows members to earn points and receive discounts, has more than 4,000,000 members worldwide with over 200,000 coming from the Middle East region.  WWS members in the region now contribute to 20 per cent of Giordano sales in the Middle East.

Giordano is also making the move to e-shopping via its website www.giordano-me.com, later this year, allowing customers the convenience of purchasing their favorite Giordano items from the comfort of their own homes or offices.

While there will be a strong focus on both the digital media, Giordano will continue to upgrade existing stores and open new stores in both current and new markets. This year, Giordano has already completed the renovation of six stores in the region, opened five new stores in the UAE, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia and has also opened its first stores in Morocco and Iraq. Giordano will also be entering the Sri Lankan market with the opening of its first store in Colombo this year.

To date, Giordano has over 190 stores in the region and at least 10 more stores are in the pipeline to open in the region before the end of the year.

“In line with our efforts to constantly evolve, our stores are being given a major upgrade to allow our customers to have a better shopping experience with improved store layouts and enhanced lighting. And when it comes to our product range in store, the key to our success has been a ‘less is more’ strategy. By focusing on the essentials, we provide the right product assortment and choices for our customers. However, great products are nothing without quality service which is why we are investing heavily in training our personnel to provide highest standards of customer service and care,” added Chugani.

Recently, Giordano’s Burjuman outlet was awarded "Best Service Performing Outlet" in the Apparel Category by the Dubai Service Excellence Scheme for consistently maintaining good customer service standards throughout 2010.

Chugani said: “We will not waver in pursuing our plans in the region and in capitalizing on our brand heritage. It has been 18 years since we opened our first store in the UAE and have been present for 15years in Saudi Arabia. Our strength comes from our core values of quality, knowledge, innovation, simplicity and excellent customer service.”

With a global presence of over 2,200 stores, Giordano has is a leading international retailer of casual apparel which is going from strength to strength in the Middle East.