The Power of Growing

During the opening of the new Damas Jewellery store at Place Vendôme in Qatar, the OHLALA team had the chance to talk to CEO, Luc Perramond, about his role in the brand’s transformation.

OHLALA - You have had an extensive career in the luxury world, mainly in the jewellery and watch fields. How do you see your experience reflected in the work you are developing at Damas since you joined the company in 2020?

Luc Perramond - I think my experience has been very helpful because Damas has been on a transformation journey. The work that I have done with big luxury names previously has given me the necessary background, especially, I would say, with my experience at Hermès. I was with them for six years. My knowledge is really helping to transform the Damas brand, build the equity, build the image and create a DNA that is desirable for our customers individually.

OHLALA - What key aspects do you want to highlight at Damas?

What are the most important core values of the brand?

Luc - When I joined Damas, I did some research. I spoke with our clients and asked them: What does Damas stand for, for you today? And the answer was very consistent. It was quality, service and trust. Because we have a long-lasting relationship with our customers and they trust us, they trust the brand. A crucial aspect in the jewellery field, because when you buy a diamond, you want to make sure the brand stands behind it. These are core values which are very important, but we needed to add the values of creativity and innovation. Because the brand is well-known and well-liked, still, it was a bit classical, conservative and conventional. We had to bring a new dimension of creativity and innovation to the products, stores and customer experience to build desirability, as the key requirement in our business is to be desirable. We want our customers to connect with the label and, to do that, we need to bring newness to product design, in the way of wearing the jewellery, the use of colours and the storytelling. And we need stores which also express our identity, spaces that are comfortable but modern and elegant at the same time.

OHLALA - What distinguishes Damas from other jewellery houses?

Luc – I believe that the USP (Unique Selling Proposition) for Damas is very clear. We are from the Middle East, for the Middle East. Our roots are here; the brand started in Damascus in 1907. And then we developed the business from Dubai into the UAE, then all of the GCC, over the years. But our USP is that our roots are in the Middle East and we understand the Arab customer. Our primary customers today are local Arabs or Arab expats. And we know them better than anybody. We want to create jewellery collections that have a strong affinity with the tastes and preferences of our clients. To connect with them subtly but also deeply, we want them to feel that all we do is for them. Many of our collections are inspired by Arabic architecture, the mosque dome, the Arabic alphabet and lace. So, a lot of stories, a lot of inspiration come from Arabic culture. And therefore, I think it resonates very well with our customers; they can identify themselves and connect with Damas.

OHLALA - In a few words, can you tell us the transformation that Damas has gone through as a brand in the past years?

Luc - The past two years have been very exciting. We have taken the brand through a very fast reinvention and transformation in all aspects, where you have to ensure that everything is consistent. For instance, we decided that all creations should be developed in-house with our team of designers. So, every collection is exclusive to Damas. We don’t sell generic jewellery that you can find anywhere – each of them comes with original storytelling. And then there is the store design and you also have to think of the staff; they need to be trained and understand the brand’s vision. It’s a lot of work to build a good experience for the client. We also believe in the power of communication – you need to reach out to all your clients. We have several million customers in the Middle East. We are a big brand with a footprint of more than 150 stores. So, communication is key. We are very active in all social media channels, whether Instagram, Facebook or TikTok. We have 1.3 million followers and the engagement rate is very high. They follow us, they like our content and we communicate in a very intensive way with them. We now have more younger clients and more women who buy for themselves. We used to sell Damas products as gifts, but now we see that women buy for themselves. They are empowered; they are independent and much younger.

OHLALA - How do you see the jewellery market in the region, and what are Damas’ plans for the future?

Luc - The jewellery market is very promising. I think it’s a growing category. Especially branded jewellery will continue to grow faster than non-branded options. And that’s why it’s important to strengthen our brand, to show that Damas is a powerful name. And to be more and more desirable because people want the brand to stand behind the product. And that’s the future, which is wonderful for us because we are a regional brand; there is no competition. And we offer a great alternative to all the international brands. We have a unique position to take. We will continue to have this more elevated kind of offer for our clients; we will roll out our new concept, open new stores and be very creative product-wise. Last year, we started launching two new collections every month. We are very active in terms of creativity. It’s important to surprise our clients and bring them new designs, new offerings, new ways to wear the jewellery, new colours, etc. We build new stories all the time. Our competitors might introduce two lines every year – we do two every month!

OHLALA – Do you have any specific plans for Damas in Qatar?

Luc – I would like to highlight that we understand the customers’ differences in taste and preferences between Qatar and other markets. Qatari clients have their own sense of style and we are trying to understand that in depth. One of the things we want to do is collaborate with either an artist or a designer, someone who is creative and really understands the Qatari culture, taste and style, to create a unique collection. This partnership will resonate very well because it will express our commitment to Qataris, respecting their values, codes and preferences. It will be very exciting and I hope it can be materialised next year.