TOBACCO SPOTLIGHT: AL FAKHER
enhances customers’ mixing experiences and enables them to curate and create an infinite number of flavour possibilities. “Our brand relaunch, which
occurred in February, was a very exciting event for and what better partner to share this milestone with than Dubai Duty Free,” says Jabre. “However, the impact of Covid-19
brought the whole industry to a grounding halt and I do not think anyone can fully mitigate against such an event which will undoubtedly leave its mark in history.” On the build-up to the launch
The packaging for Al Fakher’s 1kg and 250g flavours have an entirely new format.
“The impact of Covid-19 brought the whole industry to a grounding halt and I do not think anyone can fully mitigate against such an event which will undoubtedly leave its mark in history.”
Ziad Jabre, Al Fakher
this is the expansion of the offering beyond the core, classic flavours and into innovative products. This is being achieved by encouraging and empowering mixing, something the company knew its audience was already doing. A new product range was launched that
subsequently Strong alliance with Dubai Duty Free
The launch of Al Fakher’s new elevated packaging with Dubai Duty Free in
February was the perfect symbol of a fruitful partnership. In December, Al Fakher celebrated 15
years of partnership with Dubai Duty Free. The celebration coincided with Dubai Duty Free achieving record retail sales in the category and Al Fakher more specifically. Ziad Jabre, Head of Global Travel
Al Fakher has a 15-year partnership with Dubai Duty Free.
66 TRBUSINESS
Retail, Al Fakher tells TRBusiness: “We share a common philosophy and believe that strong partnerships are built on trust. We started with Dubai Duty Free in 2004 and they have been a supportive partner ever since. This is why we chose Dubai Duty Free to launch AF 2020.”
Jabre, who strongly believes in the
future growth of the shisha molasses category adds: “Being the global category leader means we will always be looking for ways to elevate the position, visibility and awareness of the category through our partnership with Dubai Duty Free.” Looking back on 2019, Jabre recalls
a tough year due to the slowdown of the global economy. He added: “The slowdown not only impacted the number of travellers, but also the buying behaviour of shoppers. It was a positive year for us as we experienced increases in our global distribution.”
OCTOBER 2020
of Al Fakher’s new brand identity, he recalls: “The lead-up to AF 2020 encompassed a tremendous amount of work, from market and consumer research to months of creative development. “This is not forgetting the
company-wide engagement and cross-functional collaboration. We have been through an exhaustive and comprehensive journey.”
New business channels More recently, Al Fakher has been forced to focus on other business channels and examine new distribution avenues such as e-commerce. Jabre comments to TRBusiness: “Seeing as we couldn’t positively impact the outcome of the pandemic, our focus was to ensure the safety of our staff and plan for the resumption of business.” According to Jabre, the United Arab Emirates government has been
understanding and cooperative throughout the pandemic. “A law requiring the
implementation of digital tax stamps on packs was meant to come into effect in the UAE on 1 June,” he says. “Following discussions with the
Federal Tax authority, the timeline has been extended by six months.” As alluded to above, 2020 begun
positively for Al Fakher. Jabre says: “Soon after launching our new identity in mid-February, the impact of Covid-19 started to appear through the decrease in passenger traffic. This was followed by airport closures. “As some concessions re-open,
traffic is slowly coming back, albeit at a much slower pace than anticipated.” As far as DF&TR is concerned,
Al Fakher’s strategy is to continue providing travellers with their brand of choice wherever their adventures take them. “What we have learned over the
past few months is that we have a resilient brand that consumers love and look for,” comments Jabre. On its relationship with retailers
across all DF&TR channels during the pandemic, he responds: “These past months have proven difficult for the whole trinity. We, therefore, believe it is important to work closely to overcome this phase. “We don’t believe that parties
should try to pass on the whole burden of what is occurring to their partners.” «
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78
