Shanghai, The center of Fashion and Luxury in Asia

The vast nation of China has always been a mystery, a country with over a billion population that only I have come to understand through the fiction stories, movies, news and friends that have helped shape my idea of this big country that is taking over the world. I was very excited about my first trip to Shanghai and was eager to begin providing explicit coverage through my blog.

That was the plan! After finally making it to the hotel and surfing the internet, I type my blog’s url in and to my surprise it didn’t work!   I start looking for other blogs and then I realized the blogger website was actually blocked!

So I decided to do usual regime online, Gmail, facebook and twitter after successfully entering my email I was shocked to find every social media network inapplicable and blocked by china! And I was sitting and complaining about the circumstances of the UAE. I didn’t understand the reason behind the governments descion to block such sites but more importantly from a business perspectives this nation opened an ample of opportunity for national companies to benefit from the money that can be made in social media and blogging in China. Then it hit me, this daunting image that China, making a majority of the world has been virtually secluded from the west, this could be another good reason why we do not know about the region.

Yet,There was a Buzz in the air of Shanghai, the same buzz that was felt in Dubai years before the recession had hit us hard, and the recession has clearly not damaged Shanghai, perhaps it has done the opposite, make it stronger! as the rest of the world had suffered and companies had to close doors to some of their flagship in North America and Europe, they are soon replaced their old bircksand began building new flagships in China.

The purpose of this visit was mainly for the INNO Luxury Summit that took place at the four seasons in Shanghai, I have always had a  basic idea of the large buying power Asia had on the luxury industry so this was a great opportunity for me to learn more about this market. 

Through this two days summit my assumptions turned into concrete numbers and evidence of how large is” LARGE” in terms of their buying power.

Speakers from the luxury industry such as BALLY provided us with their current updates of their success in the China market, Bally stores around the world make it clear to Chinese customers that their international branches include a Mandarin speaker, in addition, their success has led them to open in other urban cities other than the capital and Shanghai.

 Bally had announced their move towards online medium in China! Yes, shockingly as much as many of the high-end luxury brands have shown their distaste for the internet because luxury is hard to translate over the internet. The trend in internet shopping in Asia is larger than the US, thus the internet is becoming highly important for them to take part in. Number indicate that there are over 420 Million internet users in China and over 70% have used the internet to shop for something (South Korea has 97% of their online users shopping online) (Statistics from Reuters and ADCMA).

Similarly Ms. Maria E. Girón founder of Megadvise, professor and Author of the book spoke how social media today works towards helping Fashion brands, her statistics indicated that markets such as China have consumers with large buying power to be as young as 20 years old. Thus, these consumers are comfortable with technology and use it more often in their lives. As a result Giron states that fashion brands must  develop strategies that align with the internet.

I have come to learn through talking with various people in the forum and through observation that wealth and status was very important to prove, especially in the city of Shanghai. Entrepreneurs in china are growing vastly and to prove their profit and loss sheets were doing well can be seen in their attire, the Cartier watch, the channel bag and tiffany bracelet.  I was shocked to see the amount of designer labels present on the streets only to see there is a demand, I saw woman holding Gucci, Bottega Vennta and Channel bags everywhere! It was truly the home of Fashion.

The CEO of Miss sixty recalled how a young trainee on an internship pay actually manage to purchase a 300 dollar jeans, he asked her how she could possibly afford such jeans and she replied stating that she and her friends have put in money in order to share these jeans.

This is what it has come down to, the importance of being branded! The influence fashion has on this generation and their willingness to purchase even when they cannot afford just scares me.

It is interesting to see the world of fashion evolving; to become part of the industry you must speak the mandarin language and  that is the only way you can have a leg in the business.

I have come to realize Karl Lagerfield and Jimmy Choo don’t care about me anymore! It’s China baby all the way! And I finally understood why certain brands manage to hold large flagship stores in Milan despite low sales in Europe and you pass by their Shanghai branch and see it filled with customers like it was your average wall mart.

After leaving the forum, I was even more interested to learn about the industry in Asia and began my eager research about its brands and their industry of luxury and was utterly surprised by what I found. All of which I will present to you in my next blog!! 

Post Academia Blues: Have you got it?

As I finished the body of my dissertation, I contemplated the ways in which I would introduce the topic of eBook and find a nice way to connect the topic in order to get my reader captured from the very first sentence. 

For hours I stared at a blank screen until I realized the important element of Change. The epitome of what my thesis preaches is that change is inevitable and quintessential for any business success. I was happy with my introduction and felt very confident that it linked with my body of work. Now, the blood and sweat I have poured in the last 3 months and a half will hopefully be rewarded with the grade I deserve.

Yet the topic of Change has once again subconsciously been brought up during a conversation my friend and I were having. It has been almost two months since we had seen each other and both of us have begun to adjust to our new lifestyles post St. Andrews. Now that we have both finally submitted our Dissertations, proud to have it done weeks in advance! We began to ask the troubling question that we have put of for almost a year, What now?

A recent article by the Guardian states that many people suffer from Depression after graduation, a result of feeling helpless to the big corporation world out there. Majority of us entered university with ideals of leaving and conquering the world but we wake up to the harsh reality of rejection letter from companies, entry level jobs requiring experience and positions of which applications begin in year 2011.

Especially in this economy, it is almost hard for anyone who has just graduated to find his or her ideal job! This according to the Guardian’s article is the reason behind this depression which is widely affecting large number of graduates. Think about it, How many cover letters could one write stating why they are qualified and fit for the company, how many more “tests” should a student go through and in the end they see the word rejection. Helplessly, we all ponder the thing we most fear, “ Is there something wrong in me?”.

Looking at one of my friends as an example, he had applied for a graduate position in a well-known consulting firm in the United Kingdom. He was thrilled to hear back from the company and went through two interview processes that he successfully aced. Later he conducted quantitative examination with a case study which was done on an 8 hour span. He finally received a phone call from the consulting company that he had successfully passed this stage and was called in for the final stage in which constituted of an  interview with the head of HR, they stated that even if on paper he was perfect for the position, if HR dosent believe you can incorporate into the company’s culture you will not be hired. It was hard to believe that they would not take him in after this whole process, yet he received the phone call that told him that they decided that he was not the right fit into the following company. They tell you rejections are part of life but I can imagine it took him a while to recover, as it should! And we provide the words of wisdom that keeps us optimistic, “ This rejection was for the best”

Yet I don’t believe a job is going to resolve everything, perhaps it will postpone and keep you busy until you begin to settle down and become happy with the new adjustments in your life. Change is hard, especially after years of enjoying a similar lifstyle, group of friends and atmosphere. Some of us come with a different mindset but we always somehow find life post academia in my opinion the hardest transition in our lives.

Confessions of the Arab Bookworm Hypocrite

Never have I ever had the chance to learn so much about the world of Arabic Literature like I have in my recent research on the publishing market in the Middle East. I have come to learn about authors that flourished, others that passed by without a single chance of fame and I find myself even more enticed to actually read the works of Haykal love story to Mahfouz Nobel literatures and the many other authors I have come to learn about in details.

I still wonder if it was my lack of interest in my Arabic studies during my high school years or the lack of creativity it came to teaching the course, but it saddens me that I never showed (and many others perhaps) any interest towards Arabic literature.

I recall as soon as the bell rang indicating the end of our classes, I would take out my Harry potter or Dan brown novels and read as much as I can before the start of my next class. Many of us grew with this idea that Arabic novels, like our courses were boring and lacked the same spark any English best seller novel did and this is perhaps ideally one of the many reasons why the Arabic publishing industry today are suffering.

Yet, I must confess that I am somewhat of a hypocrite, and it took me a while to realize this as I was browsing through the St. Andrews library. I came upon the translated work of Haykal, I was tempted to throw away all my work and sit in the corner and just read the novel. I held the book and stared at it for a while, its rough edges and smudged pages show that this book has been read more than once. I stared at Haykal’s name in English and I sat there and contemplated the ironic situation.

I am an Arab, with the ability to read a book in Arabic yet I wanted to read the book in the English language. It bothered me more than anything that as my thesis proposes strategies for the market to come back to its days of glory, so the least I could do is practise what I preach.

Which brings me to the resolution I have put down, as soon as I submit my thesis to the university, I will force myself to read my very first Arabic novel. It may have taken me 21 years, living in Scotland and working on a thesis only to realize this, but I always believe it is never too late.

They always said, never open Pandora's box

I am one those, yes, one of those, those people who try to turn a blind eye to the news toll concerning the deaths that surround us in the middle eastern region. It has become part of the norm, death that is, if you live in the Middle East. Everything Islamic has somehow been connected to fundamentalism and I remember vividly how my life was consumed with the news but when I began to reach a point that I was truly depressed I just decided it was time to suppress all this and leave the news be.

Today watching the whole flotilla aid situation and seeing it all unravel in front of me, I could not have imagined how low Israel has reached! the fact that their reply to killing innocent lives is by saying they are “sorry” for the losses of unarmed civilians and they weren’t “sure” who told them they can shoot just not justify anything at all. There comes the other voice in me that notifies me that with politics nothing is in our hand!

I keep coverage of the news back home and read about how one of Gulf news journalist Abbas Al Lawati was on one of the boats. Despite the fact that this type of mission always carries a certain risk it just was something you do not expect from a ship carrying aid! On another note I really am happy that there are journalists in Dubai with such a passion for bringing in more coverage to our part of the region. As an avid photography journalist I just wish I had the guts to go to Palestine.

What’s interesting in this whole situation is I believe Israel has perhaps landed in Pandora’s box this time. Despite the media conglomerates dictate our opinion, today’s economy will manage to access the truth much faster with no helps from the conglomerates. The Internet has opened up blogs, twitter, youtube and much more outlets that people will use to present the actual facts without the help of the likes of CNN

This news alone comforts me, hopefully now people will understand that perhaps all this anxiety and hatred Arabs feel towards the Israel army and government is for a good and valid reason.

Denial

2:18 Am, Its about time that I shut those lights and go to bed, but it is not always easy.

I Feel the stress and pressure from this essay that I have to submit and all I want is for it to just finish and go away!

I have decided that despite the hard effort and work that I put in the last two weeks building

our business plan was not enough, rather, I am keen on finishing working on a reflective paper

that is due in two weeks time because i will be leaving next week and I have no intention of carrying this with me to London when I will meet my dad!

After hours of trying to read as much academic journals as i can my classmates and I were chilling on a Saturday night when one of my friends brought to our attention that t the lives we are living in St. Andrews is soon coming to its epic end!

With only one more module left almost everyone will be leaving St. Andrews and living in London or Edinburgh to work at summer placements and very few of us are perhaps staying in St. Andrews.

At that very moment I was in denial of that very fact, I did not want to circum to the idea that this dream I had since 8th grade to live abroad is coming to an end! more importantly I did not want to see all the friendships I made this year become part of my past.

I cannot imagine not waking up one day from this questionable bed I have in my dorm room, not knock on my Flat mate door to hang out in town and even take my stroll down our infamous "green mile" to get to our beloved Gateway building.

What makes life here in St. Andrews so special is that its simple, very simple and that is despite the stress that I currently am in. As much as I love Dubai and have come to forgive its flaws, I find life there very complicated in so many different aspects that would need a blog on its own!

another part of my denial is the fact that I hate saying goodbye! I have made many great friends in St. Andrews who had such a great impact in my life and made this experience here better than I could have imagined. how could I tell these people have a great life and perhaps only see them once in every two/three years after spending almost every day of my life in St. Andrews with them?

I have never regretted my decision of coming to the small quirky town of St Andrews, I have learnt to love it everyday and will make sure to savor every moment I am here.

2:45 Am now i seriously have to get to bed!

Reflection: gut feelings

Being Back to my routine life in St Andrews is quite surreal, with the first week over I wasn't sure how to make of it. I find myself back to the basics with my lack of enthusiasm to do work with such short days and laziness is always a great prospect!

yet i had a great deal of time of thinking to do, and the prospects of pursuing Photography is becoming much more stronger in my mind, I find that there is a drive in me that knows that perhaps my chance is here and right now and I must take a hold of it.

It may be the laziness and my creative imagination talking but have you ever had such a strong gut feeling about something? They speak of it fondly in various media outlets, it must not be part of someone's figment of imagination. I just know it is the right track for me!

call me crazy, call my whatever you like but I think theres something about this spontaneous feeling that I have a future in this crazy world of photography!

Reflections: Thoughts during my Final boarding call

When I first wrote this entry during my last half an hour in Dubai, I was smart enough to assume that it was irrelevant to save it since it was in the process of being published, but how wrong was I when my page got erased and I watched each heart felt word disappear.

Yet I will try my very best to recreate my thoughts but perhaps that will not be the very case, but I will begin with how I concluded and that is this entry is dedicated to the people that have always been the source of joy in my life, my family.

38 days in Dubai and 8 Days in Bangkok summed up this long winter break to which I spent (other than the days working on my papers) with my family went by so fast that I cant comprehend even while sitting and writing this entry here on the plane.

During my last days in St. Andrews I detested the idea of coming back home for such a long period! I wanted to explore the world more yet once I reached home my roots began to cling to the familiar soil it was once rooted in. even my belly would agree that food tastes better in Dubai (maybe that has to do with the fact I cant cook, but that’s another case).

When I initially set to write this entry I was trying to put down my adventures in Bangkok however my mind was clouded with the thoughts of my family that I am leaving behind and I could not put down the right words , all I wanted was a big hug from my family. I wouldn’t mind listening to another hour of my sisters constant batterings about her latest challenges on the Play station.

Yet I know that this is something I have to do for myself, I set out to the world outside so I could find myself and detach from my families dependence, as much as they will support me, I need to learn to stand on my own.

So far this entry makes St andrews feel like this evil, dark and ugly place but on the contrary I love that town! I miss my friends and the routines of university but all I want to really say is what perhaps every most cliché movie, song and books really try to tell you and that is family you build is everything.

Reflection/photography: Once upon a time

Lost, yes lost, is perhaps the word that would describe my past temperament in life; I wasn’t sure to what extent my abilities in various outlets would lead me. I wanted to do many things simultaneously instead of focusing my energy towards one creative array.

However, what I never realized was that my various hobbies and dreams do point to a specific commonality and that is my deep and undying love for storytelling.

Ever since I can remember, I always loved telling stories, perhaps enjoyed the indulgence of the attentive listeners as I weaved up a short fiction story or spoke of my journeys around the world (perhaps this is the reason I talk far more than I should :p) and I always wanted to keep my stories s alive, hence I began putting them down on paper while at the same time I would take every chance my family gave me to use their camera hoping to keep evidence of my story.

Yet when it comes to photography, I cannot explain to you the sense of serenity I feel when I hold that camera and I click away.

Through the lens, I watch as a story is being unravelled before my eyes, a story that needs to be heard. My dream of being a photojournalist is something I would love to pursue in the future, I believe that there are many interesting stories around the world that needs to be heard, but for now I understand that my dreams may have to wait, yet I do not let that put me down and I continue to enjoy my love of storytelling.

Here is my recent shot with some family friends, these kids (and kids in generally )are more enjoyable to take photos with than adults because they never put up a wall, but rather never shy away from raw emotions. I hope you enjoy this story :)

Reflection: The Future is bright

I have hidden myself from the world, tucked inside my borrow I call my room, so I can work on producing the last given essay that marks the end of the very first semester at St. Andrews.

For a whole week, I was in the complex world of publishing, as tedious my work was, I must admit, the publishing world is much more interesting than I had expected.

Before coming to st andrews, I was unsure of my choice of publishing, given how this part of the world is lacking the right structure that will provide me some sort of income, yet my disposition comes from my naivety in the subject.

These buildings are just part of the mirage, yet once you enter deep into the desert youll find that oasis!

Throughout my research I found the UAE is trying to mould into a much more culture oriented economy, yet the oasis needs to grow, to some extent my belief was true, but things are changing here in the publishing world which is quite exciting!

So to all enthusiast Authors in the UAE I say Keep writing because the future is bright!

and for now, I shall put down my pens and highlighters and begin to enjoy the very limited time I have for R and R, I cant believe how much I have longed to pick up a book that did not require me to sit and analyze.

Holiday, here I come!

Reflection:We are Fighters

January 4^th marks a date that will always remain a historic moment in the history of the UAE.

Last night, I was caught between the midst’s of a crowd that came to watch one of the most spectacular moments in history, the

opening of the tallest building in the world, Burj Khalifa.

It was 8PM as the White Mercedes G55 with the familiar licenses plate number one arrives at the scene. Everyone recognizes that car and the crowd begins to get excited! Everyone was watching the screens and awaiting the most beloved man in Dubai.

As we caught the first glimpse of the Vice President getting out of his car, the UAE national, Arabs, Indians, Asians, Europeans and the rest of the multicultural groups present in this crowd began to cheer.

I have always found Sheikh Mohammed to be an inspirational leader and thought that this feeling was perhaps a shared belief amongst us UAE nationals, but looking at the crowd of faces as they watched our vice president make the stage, I could see the proud faces of the residents of Dubai, I forget that this place is home to many other eclectic groups.

As the ribbons were cut, marking the opening of the Burj, Sheikh Mohammed announced, “The highest point should be associated with the biggest name, I present to you Burj Khalifa.” Everyone was shocked, yet we all understood the solidarity of our sheikh. His emotional attachment and his sense of uniting the emirates (something his late father preached) comes before anything. It is the proof that we shall always stick with our brothers through thick and thin.

In my opinion, ever since the late President passed away and the economic boom in Dubai, this intense rivalry and hatred between the people of Abu Dhabi and Dubai grew parallel. I do not understand it largely because at the end of the day we are all one country and I think this was not a proud moment in the history of Dubai but the UAE.

Now lies burj Khalifa, on Sheikh Zayed Road, a monument that will not only be seen at any point in Dubai but can be glimpsed from outer space, this is truly a proud moment for us all.

As I watched us and our ruler celebrate a moment in our history together, it is something that perhaps no CNN , no BBC nor Business week could ever manage to write down in words or explain, you had to be there to understand it and this was the same feelings amongst the face of crowds of the people present. I saw it in my mother’s eye who stood by me on my right and the Englishman who stood on my left, we all felt it, this intense emotional attachment to Dubai.

What no news agency realizes (due to their cynicism) is that Burj Khalifa has a deeper and symbolic meaning to the residents and UAE nationals. It symbolizes that we can always aim high, that despite everything, despite the debt and despite the recession, we carry on because this is who we are, we are fighters and this is the true symbol of Burj Khalifa! not a world record breaking building, but a symbol of who Sheikh Mohammed is and who we are!