Mohamad Alabbar – one of the Middle East’s leading businessmen – has been added to the Business of Fashion’s 500 list. The list is based on hundreds of nominations from people within the fashion industry, along with extensive data and research by the BoF editorial team.
Recognized as being one of the world’s leading investors, Alabbar has long been one of the driving forces behind Dubai’s economic growth over the years. He currently has interests in various fields, including fashion, property, leisure and commodities. Under Emaar Properties, he helped establish the Burj Khalifa – the tallest building in the world – as well as Dubai Mall.
What makes him particularly relevant to the fashion industry is Alabbar’s stake in Yoox Net-a-Porter group. Alabbar’s private investment organization, Alabbar Enterprises, holds a 4 percent stake in the group, worth around 100 million euros. He also helped develop the Armani Hotel chain outside of Milan.
More recently, Alabbar announced Noon.com – a competitor to the region’s largest online goods merchant Souq.com (which was recently purchased by Amazon for almost US$1 billion). The service will offer millions of different items – including fashion items – at competitive prices, all of which will be delivered directly to your door.
Two other Emirati’s were honoured in the BoF 500. Dr Amina Al Rustamani and Khalid Al Tayer.
Rustamani is the driving force behind Dubai’s efforts to become a global fashion centre. As the CEO of Tecom Investments, she has been responsible for developing the Dubai Design District (D3), a fashion and creative hub in the city.
Khalid Al Tayer is the CEO of Al Tayer Group – a conglomerate that is responsible for a number of luxury brands across the Gulf, including Bottega Veneta, Bulgari, Ermenegildo Zegna, Gucci, Prada and Saint Laurent, Dolce and Gabbana, Alexander McQueen and Giorgio Armani, along with a license for Harvey Nichols.
You can see the full list of winners, here.
