Boubiyan Jewellery is a haven for the yellow metal, twinkles with traditional Arabian pieces

Naser Abdul Nabi, proprietor of BoubiyanJewellery talks to the Retail Jeweller World about the things that tick the right boxes while doing business in Kuwait

Tell us about your brand. How has the journey been?

I started in 1983. I was still a student in the university then and my father was a veteran in the industry. I started working part time in his shop as a student. Later, after two years, I decided that it is time to open my own store. I went into the gold business and started with gold jewellery

Tell us about your operations in the Middle East. Are you looking to branch out in the future?

I specifically work in the gold industry. We operate only in Kuwait now. However, when time permits, I am looking forward to opening a branch in Dubai.

What are the specific trends that you notice in the Middle East? What designs do well?

For Kuwait, it is Arabian designs that do well. The old generation love Arabian jewellery in old-fashioned designs. However, there has been a shift in millennial choices now. They are moving away from brands. They have seen that brandsare not the way to go if you are looking for resale value. They are wearing gold in 21 carats. Brides like white gold in European designs. Especially in Kuwait, people want to buy 21-22 carat gold for investment purposes. It’s a shift from their love for 18carat gold because its investment value depreciates when it comes to trading.

What are youngsters buying now?

They are very strict about 21-22 carat gold. They want to buy bullion, because in Kuwait, youngsters are now making a lot of money. For 22 carats, they buy gold coins, and for 24 carats, they buy gold bars. They don’t keep their surplus money in banks now. They buy gold.

Tell us about your collections.

In Kuwait, I sell traditional designs and Arabian designs. I import some gold from India when they have exhibitions. I buy new designs from there. Kuwaitis like traditional and old designs. They concentrate on more of gold and less of stones. So, the labour charge is also less.

Do you use precious stones in your designs?

Usually, I like working with rubies and emeralds. We stopped with diamonds because the young crowd is not buying diamonds as they don’t trade well. This is also the reason why I like rubies and emeralds.

Do you face any roadblocks while operating in Kuwait?

In Kuwait, the process to sell gold takes a lot of time. Once we buy the gold, it is sent to the ministry of commerce for checking and stamping. That takes a long time. If we want to import from outside, they take a long time to pass through the airport and customs. We have a small office of commerce. There are a few people, so the manpower problem makes it a long process. In Kuwait, there are weekly dealings of 150-200 kilograms of gold. So, there are few people to stamp such a huge quantity. I hope the process speeds up in the future.

Do you see a difference in operations pre and post-pandemic?

As the pandemic numbers go up and down, the number of customers are down. This is because no morethan two customers are allowed in our shop. Now, the condition is better. You can work only 4-5 hours. We mainly work online, which is new for our business. But it gives us new ideas and we can export our products too. We did not do that before. We have a market in Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

What would your message be to jewellery fraternity?

I believe people are changing their way of spending money. Specially in Arab countries, families park their money in gold. So, it is a great idea to have a good stock of fine gold in shops. People across all ages are investing in gold. Dealing in gold will be a great thing for the industry and Kuwait as a whole.

Courtesy: Retail Jeweller World News