Hassan bin Ali al-Nuaimi, nephew of the ruler of Ajman, is thisclose to acquiring Christian Lacroix. His $70 million check is ready, Lacroix is on his side, and official administrators seem confident in al-Nuaimi and his great wealth. If his bid goes through, al-Nuaimi says he plans to turn the label into a full-fledged lifestyle brand — for the richest people in the world. While much of the fashion industry tries to make a buck in lower-end markets, inking deals with places like HSN and QVC, Nuaimi and Lacroix plan to take the opposite tactic. Reuters reports:
“The idea is not to focus on fashion by itself,” said Nuaimi. “We are discussing different activities in leisure … private jets, hotels, high-quality yachts, palaces, and interior decoration. We will focus on very exclusive areas and don’t want to sell his name cheap in the market.”
Does that mean boats with pouf sales? Christian Lacroix wallpaper? (Which could be genius.)
Why does this rich man seek to bring the world these things? It is not necessarily because of his undoubtedly finest of personal tastes. Or because one day he was on a private jet and thought, “You know what these seats and tray tables need? Lace.”
“It’s a little strange for Arab people to get into the fashion business. I want to focus on something different that no one is competing with in this region,” he said.
He forgot to mention the oil boom went bust last year in the UAE.
INTERVIEW-Gulf investor plans to diversify Lacroix business [Reuters]
