Arab fashion industry has registered a solid growth of more than 400 per cent over the last decade with the UAE emerging as the regional fashion hub, attracting major international brands, said an expert.

The region’s clothing market is valued at over $10 billion, and several more international names are making plans to enter the Middle East, revealed Hany Abu Omar, the managing director of H2 Fashion, a leading fashion retail group in Dubai.

A part of A & H Investment owned by Abdullah and Hamad Al Ghurair, H2 Fashion operates more than 22 shops in the UAE, with a target to reach 45 shops in the UAE and 25 in the GCC by 2014. Currently, more than 120 employees work at the company.

“The region is on par with big fashion destinations such as London, Paris, Tokyo and New York as far as the buying power of consumers is concerned. Residents and tourists in the region are ardent followers of international fashion and take a keen interest in keeping up with new trends,” he noted.

The Arab fashion sector has grown manifold in 2012 with the prolification of shopping malls in the region as well as the rising interest of international brands to gain a foothold in the region, Abu Omar added.

The UAE, he said, has positioned itself as the region’s fashion hub for consumers, fashion designers and houses and fashion brands alike.

"Many of the people living in the UAE are affluent and the country has become a holiday destination for tourists from all over the world. These factors have boosted the fortunes of the fashion business in the UAE, opening up numerous opportunities for brands, franchisees, designers and shopping malls," he observed.

H2 Fashion represents famous international brands such as Jennyfer, a young and dynamic French brand targeting teenagers who are looking for trendy apparel at reasonable prices, Andrew’s Ties, an Italian brand.

Moreover, it owns the UAE franchisee rights of Lufian, a life style brand that offers men’s, apparel and accessories as well as Galvanni, an Italian Polo brand that manufactures men’s, ladies apparel, shoes and accessories in Turkey and Italy.-TradeArabia News Service