What: At the RLC Fashion Summit in Milan, Michael Chalhoub outlined how the Middle East is emerging as a global growth engine for luxury, driven by youthful demographics, local investment, and a focus on quality and customer experience.

Why it is important: The session underscores how demographic advantages, investment in infrastructure, and a focus on quality are enabling the Middle East to outpace mature markets in luxury growth.

At the RLC Fashion Summit in Milan, Michael Chalhoub, CEO of Chalhoub Group, described how the Middle East is defying global luxury’s slowdown, with beauty and fashion growing at high single- to low double-digit rates. He emphasized that the region’s youthful, affluent, and digitally savvy population—65% under 35 in Saudi Arabia—demands authentic engagement, personalized experiences, and seamless integration of technology. Chalhoub Group’s growth playbook combines concept innovation (like Level Shoes), major investments in logistics and talent (including a 50-hectare Riyadh distribution center and Chalhoub University), and a regional platform that balances local specificity with scale. The group’s expansion now extends to Latin America and sub-Saharan Africa, positioning it as a stabilizing partner for global brands. Chalhoub stressed that quality—across product, experience, and people—is the defining trend, and that brands must invest in experiences that make customers want to shop locally. He advised global brands to move early, localize, and invest in talent, as the Middle East is no longer a peripheral market but a core growth engine for luxury worldwide. 

IADS Notes: Michael Chalhoub’s insights at the RLC Fashion Summit in Milan (September 2025) underscore the Middle East’s emergence as a global growth engine for luxury and fashion. Chalhoub Group’s regional platform, concept innovation, and investment in logistics and talent have enabled it to scale across the GCC, Latin America, and Africa, acting as both distributor and brand-builder. The group’s focus on quality, customer experience, and curiosity-driven insight is matched by a demographic advantage—youthful, affluent, and digitally engaged consumers. Chalhoub’s advice to global brands—move early, localize, invest in experience and talent—reflects the region’s shift from being a peripheral market to a central pillar of global luxury growth. The Summit’s executive outlook confirmed this, with 62% of leaders identifying the Middle East as the top growth region for fashion in the coming years.

Michael Chalhoub took the stage at RLC Fashion Summit