How To Start A Fashion Store In Dubai

Dubai means a world of fashion for the rest of the world, where different renowned brands from different parts of the world have set-up their branches/headquarters to cater to the demand in the region. A sought-after tourist destination, Dubai has millions of visitors every year, who always keep some budget to upgrade their wardrobes. The residents in Dubai always wait for the shopping festivals eagerly and the shopping of ready made garments is a very common and frequent occurrence.

Trend Analysis

The Dubai Chamber of Commerce report reveals clothing sales volume to about $12.3bn in the UAE in 2018 – an increase of 4.8 percent from the previous year. As per the prediction the retail fashion sales will increase strongly in years 2020-2023. The report expects from 2019 to 2023 women wear will grow at a faster rate than menswear, at 4.9 per cent compared to 3.8 per cent. Women wear is predicted to be worth $5.2bn in fashion retail sales by 2023 where Menswear is predicted to be worth $7.3bn. Children's swear is also predicted to be worth $1bn by 2023. So, it’s a right time to grab the opportunity.

What are the activities I can select for a retail shop for ready-made garments trading?

To start with the ready made garments the first step is to select the activities. Here are few mentioned activities as mentioned below which are mentioned on the activity list by the Department of economic development

• Textile Trading
• Blankets , Towels & Linens Trading
• Ready made Garments Trading
• Shoe Trading, Perfumes & Cosmetics Trading
• Imitation Jewellery Trading
• Toys & Games Trading
• Suitcases & Travel Requisites Trading

Yes, all of the above activities can come under a single license which means you can grow your business in several avenues depending on the demand of the local as well as international market.

The license processing

So now you know that which activities you need to add for your license for present and probable future, lets take the next step to form the license and to know the probable cost and requirement:

• Name selection reflecting the most required activity in the prefix-So if the name is The Desi Collection, then the prefix can be selected as any activity from the different activities mentioned under the license. For example the name can be "Desi Collection Readymade Garments Trading LLC". Now, this is the rule but in case you just want to use the name "Desi Collection" for branding then its better to take a Trademark registration of the name along with the logo
• Once the name is selected then the next step will be to take the approval for all the activities which can take few hours
• Now the main thing is to take a shop as you will need an EJARI or Tenancy Contract to get the license. It totally depends on the products you have for your business to select the location to attract the local people and of course the budget. If you just want to do trading without a shop that is also possible taking a Sustainability Desk or just an office.
• Now as the Ejari is also ready you can prepare the documents required for the legal company formation and the MOA signing and then you need to pay the license amount to the DED to get your license. A trading license(excluding the shop/office) generally takes approx. AED 17,000/- and the yearly renewal may become approx. AED 15,000.
• As this a trading license hence during the MOA signing you will require the UAE National who will be the 51% shareholder for the company and the expat shareholder/s can have the remaining 49%.
• So, the license is ready and now you will need an immigration card and then a bank account to operate the business. There are number of banks in UAE to open your account and also you can always seek assistance from the business consultancy for guidance.

So the license process is done and your shop is running now. With your proper direction you can also add/remove activities but generally you can keep 7-10 activities under one license so it may not be required in future as well.

Requirement after License formation

There are two more requirements to run a business successfully. As you need to monitor the finance hence the accounting and book keeping should be maintained and you can again take the assistance of some accounting and bookkeeping firm for analysis. Also the VAT registration should be done in case you are doing a certain amount of banking transaction (defined by the FTA) and again its better to consult a firm for VAT registration and other requirements. The demand for ready-made garments are never ending as people in UAE try to stay in line with the latest fashion trends. Also, do not forget to emphasize on your website development as most of the buyers browse the collections before actually arriving at your shop for the final selection and many shop online as well. This blog is written by Ms. Ananya, Business Advisor at Flyingcolour Business Setup, VAT and Accounting Services, Dubai. If you have any question regarding setting up a fashion store in Dubai or anywhere across the UAE then please contact us at +971 4 4542366 or email us at info[at]flyingcolour[dot]com.