Apart from the location, what have been the ingredients of success for Saks Dubai?
RM: One major focus for us has been on authoritative selling. We have recruited from the US a full time trainer and set up the Saks Academy, which has its own curriculum. This is unique to Dubai and the training programme spans customer service, product knowledge and cross selling. We started from one sales associate in each department, and each season we take another. They each create new material for the programme and pass it on to the next entrant. For example they show vignettes of customer service, videos and each person takes alongside them a Saks apprentice from another department. Another aspect of the training is about appreciating differences [of other nationalities]. It teaches them not to judge people by what they are wearing and about respecting the confidentiality of the customer’s choices. BI-ME: It has been said that Saks makes very tight guidelines on its licensed stores. How is the relationship and how do you work through such guidelines in the local market? RM: The c
