L’Azurde Adopts New Strategy Inspired By Arab Women

Riyadh, July 27, 2013: L’Azurde, the first company in the Middle East to obtain accreditation from the London Bullion Market Association, revealed plan to open 30 showrooms during the next three years in order to raise their market share to 40 percent of the jewellery market in Saudi Arabia, and join 10 existing one’s in the MENA region specialized in selling different collection of diamond.

Hosting a Suhoor on Friday, the Riyadh-based L’Azurde Group, with an experience of more than 30 years, unveiled a new strategy to strengthen its position in the global gold market through developing its brand to compete with the other international brands.

Ayman Al Haffar, Executive General Manager of the Group, gave an overview of the new expansions and projects in GCC region, in addition to revealing the new strategy of the group and the current situation of the jewellery market and promising prospects locally and regionally. “This strategy comes to commensurate L’Azurde leadership with its distinctive position in the formulation and distribution of jewelry, making it number one in this field in the Gulf and the Middle East,” he said.

L’Azurde’s success can be attributed, in a way, to its ability to have access to Arab women and meet all their needs of gold and diamond to shine and boasts by wearing the distinctive cut from L’Azurde. “L’Azurde experience made the group understand women for different character and habits,” he further said, adding that “L’Azurde believes jewelry is more than just a status symbol. It designs original classical and contemporary jewelry for every moment in a women’s life, creating a signature style that offers elegance and uniqueness for every occasion.”

Moreover, he said perhaps the most striking proof on L’Azurde’s new strategy success is the sheer number of viewers for the new identity announcement on L’Azurde channel on YouTube, which surpassed one million 1,000,000, a figure which the majority of the companies operating in this sector in the region did not reach, he noted.

 L’Azurde produces more than 3,000 different jewelry models every year, and one of the few manufacturers operating in 21-karat and 18-karat gold and diamond jewelry. Its award-winning designers and model-makers are at the heart of what L’Azurde does. Because L’Azurde believes jewelry is more than just a status symbol, it designs original classical and contemporary jewelry for every moment in a women’s life, creating a signature style that offers elegance and uniqueness for every occasion.

 Over the last decade, L’Azurde has received industry recognition at the highest level. Among many awards, it received the “Gold Virtuosi International Award” for design excellence in gold jewelry awarded in Italy, and the “International Quality in Gold Jewelry Award” by the Trade Leaders’ Club in France.

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National Football Museum Launches Exhibtion of Arab Women in Sport as a part of Qatar UK 2013 Year OF Culture

A new exhibition illustrating Arab women’s love of sport has opened at the National Football Museum in Manchester, UK as part of Qatar UK 2013 Year of Culture.

Commissioned by Qatar Museums Authority, Hey’Ya: Arab Women in Sport, which runs until 13 October 2013 at the National Football Museum in Manchester, UK, is an exhibition by the internationally renowned photographer Brigitte Lacombe and documentary maker Marian Lacombe. The title of the exhibition, Hey’Ya is Arabic for Let’s Go, reflecting the athletes’ energy and enthusiasm.

The exhibition features a series of large-scale photographs of Arab sportswomen, from beginners to Olympians, from 20 different Arab countries, shown alongside videos by Marian Lacombe.

The exhibition was conceived by Qatar Museums Authority to encourage more Arab girls to participate in sports and comes to Manchester as part of the Qatar UK 2013 Year of Culture celebrations.

The Year is a programme of cultural exchanges and events in Qatar and the UK coordinated by the British Council and Qatar Museums Authority which aims to forge new and support existing partnerships between the two countries in the arts, education, sport and science, while promoting an awareness and appreciation of each country’s culture, achievements and heritage.

The project was shot over a period of seven month starting in December 2011 when the Arab Games were held in Doha. With the support of the Qatar Olympic and Sports Museum, Brigitte and Marian Lacombe were able to set up their own outdoor studio, working side by side, capturing the athletes practicing different sports ranging from Tae Kwon Do to swimming and equestrian.

Amongst them were a number of Qatari girls, one of them Nada Mohamed Wafa, the first Qatari female swimmer to compete in the Olympic Games. Nada said “I am proud to be featured in this amazing exhibition. I enjoyed learning about UK culture last year when I competed in the London 2012 Olympic Games. I am excited that the exhibition is travelling to Manchester as part of Qatar UK 2013 Year of Culture; I hope people of the UK enjoy learning about my country’s culture as much as I did learning about theirs.”

Kevin Moore, Director of the National Football Museum, said: “We wanted to bring something different to Manchester, a truly global sports city.

“The National Football Museum is committed to raising awareness of the key role that women play in developing football and other sports, both now and historically and is committed to breaking down cultural and gender stereotypes.

“This exhibition is part of a programme to display the works of the world’s best photographers and artists and is a continuation of the NFM’s collaborations with cultural institutions, such as the Qatar Museum Authority, from all round the world.”

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