Taking pride in portraying heritage, culture of Qatar

A successful retailer should focus on the convenience of the customer, as opposed to putting too much emphasis on the actual shopping experience, Marzooq Al Shamlan & Sons (MSS) general manager KV Ramakrishnan said yesterday.

Speaking at the Doha Jewellery & Watches Exhibition (DJWE), Ramakrishnan who is better known as Ravi, said the top selling MSS outlet is located inside a hypermarket.

“In today’s scenario, people are looking at convenience. For example our outlet at LuLu Hypermarket on D Ring Road remains our biggest seller of high-end watches from Rado and Tissot,” Ravi explained.

“Everyone is concerned with the best of their time,” he added.

As an outlet which is identified with catering to all sections, MSS was established in Qatar in 1956, and currently runs a retail network of over 25 outlets across Qatar and Bahrain.

It does business through three retail formats — Crono, Crono Fashion and Watch Corner, mostly located in malls.

“We were the first to open a shop at a mall in 1995 (The Mall). There was a lot of criticism about the choice of the location. Every one asked, inside a mall?” Ravi recalled.

“Now everyone is getting away from the standalone concept and opening outlets where the footfall is higher,” he added.

A regular at the exhibition since the event’s inception, MSS has often drawn visitors to its elaborate stand thanks to the design which has a close resemblance to a Qatari majlis.

“We modified our stand a bit this year, but the overall theme of displaying our heritage remains the same,” the official said.

Visitors to the stand will find a small majlis corner, façades reflecting Qatari architecture, walls covered with swords and hunting weapons, even as a TV displays pictures of Qatar from a bygone era.

“What is also different this year is the giant clock tower we installed, based on the design of the one near the Masjid Al Sheioukh (near the Emiri Diwan),” he added.

On previous occasions, visitors have had to queue outside the company’s stand simply to peek inside a traditional well or a peculiar object from the ancient period, specially made available by MSS for the event.

“We take immense pride in portraying the culture of Qatar. That is also part of the idea of this exhibition,” Ravi said.

Some of the brands being displayed by MSS at the exhibition include Cerruti, Police, Rado, Revani, Roamer, Tissot and TX. “We have watches ranging from QR500 being the cheapest to QR35,000 the most expensive,” the official said.

Photocaption: The Marzooq Al Shamlan & Sons stand at the exhibition