Capitalizing on its success in the region, Giordano Middle East has expanded into neighbouring countries, with new stores opened in Russia, Bulgaria, Armenia and Algeria this year.

Giordano’s new store in Russia is located in Novosibirsk, Russia's third largest city after Moscow and Saint Petersburg. Other new markets that Giordano has recently entered include Bulgaria which now has four stores, Armenia with three, and Algeria and Kazakhstan with one store each.　

Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Kuwait are Giordano Middle East’s biggest markets, with 48, 31 and 10 stores respectively. The brand has also built a strong presence in Iran where it now has 13 stores, closely followed by Georgia with nine stores, including a new 2,000 sq ft flagship in the heart of downtown Tbilisi that opened earlier this year, pictured below.

“Giordano’s success in the Middle East has prompted us to expand into other markets that are already familiar with the brand due to their proximity to the region. In most of our new markets, there already exist a strong awareness of the Giordano brand because of frequent travels to the Middle East and our presence in the Dubai and Qatar airport duty free stores. So our main challenge in these markets is to find partners who believe in the brand and are committed to delivering,” said Ishwar Chugani, Executive Director for Giordano Middle East.

Giordano Middle East expects continued strong growth in its core markets. “We will be opening our largest Middle East store at Dubai Mall and four large format stores in Makkah and Madinah. We will also be opening a grand store on the first floor of Abraj Al Bait, which is an important development. The young Saudi population is a major contributor to our growth in the kingdom while it is the tourists who drive our growth in the UAE” remarked Mr Chugani. In addition, Giordano Middle East is also planning to enter new markets like Egypt and Azerbaijan. “Today our operations in new markets contribute significantly to our total revenue and we expect this to grow by at least 20 percent within the next two years,” added Mr Chugani.　

Established in 1993, Giordano Middle East is a joint venture between Emirates Trading Agency (ETA) of Dubai and Giordano International Limited. Giordano Middle East operates over 100 stores and counters in the Middle East and Central Asia.

Giordano International Limited is a leading international retailer of men’s, women’s and children’s apparel under the brand names “Giordano”, “Giordano Ladies”, “Giordano Junior” and “Bluestar Exchange”. Established in 1981, Giordano International now operates 1,700 stores and counters in Greater China, Japan, Korea, Southeast Asia, Australia, India and the Middle East.