Dena Rashed visits Mango, a high-end outlet that promises to be the first in a series of brandname shops flashing all across the country Women of all ages flocking into CityStars, the youngest of Nasr City's malls testified to the instant popularity of international brandname clothing. For it was to pounce on the local franchise of the Mango Shop, with models coming straight from Spain, that girls lined up that day. Radwa Ghander, an oil company employee and connoisseur shopper, complained that the shop was too crowded for comfort but declared that its opening has relieved part of her shopping burden: "I depend mainly on family members to bring back clothes from Europe. Still, it's great to have such shops at home." Egypt is the latest country in the Middle East to catch the Mango train, after the UAE, Lebanon, Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Oman, of which there are some 700 outlets in 73 countries. "A big step," as Ghander puts it, the opening of Mango in Egypt further boosts a shopping spree that supports hundreds of shops and dozens of malls, the latter, particularly, in Nasr City. Yet the process was not as smooth as one might expect: due to bureaucratic obstacles, the opening was delayed several times. "Getting the required permits was the sticky part," Mohamed Dagher, the general manager of Fashion International Group Cairo, explained. "But the ministries with whom we dealt were extremely cooperative, in as far as they could be..." Dagher used the year-long wait to enhance the decoration and furniture of the shop, he says. High sales are expected as competitors have yet to step in; already Mango has drawn in large numbers without much advertising -- a fact evident regardless of Dagher's testimony. "As soon as I found out about it from friends," Walaa Maher, one young shopoholic, recounts, "I decided I'd go, immediately." Yet a mere four days after the opening, many sizes were already sold out; the shop was still overcrowded: "I found me some nice summer wear at reasonable prices, lamenting what I couldn't afford as I left." Ghander had has complaints: "I didn't manage to buy a thing, I had to queue up to get into the changing room. Things will slow down a little, eventually." The Mango rush, she adds, "has to do with a wide variety of clothes under one roof." According to Dagher, indeed, "Egypt is not just a big market for fashion shops, it is also a virgin one." Since the World Trade Organisation agreement came into effect in January 2005, foreign investment has been more forthcoming: "We seized the opportunity to start off Mango, opting for the best possible location in Cairo," one that is not only conveniently located but has the benefit of facilities like parking and hotels. The process was made all the more viable by the pricing policy, which staggers items to suit a range of budgets. Some prices are higher than their equivalents in euros, yet Dagher explains that the policy is to keep prices within the range of other Mango Shops in the region -- something that proves difficult with a 40 per cent tariff. "We are subsidising items out of our own pockets," Dagher explains. Aside from prices, however, Dagher insists that the Cairo Mango Shop offers the same quality and variety as Mango Shops elsewhere in the world -- the notion that Egypt is any different from Europe in this regard is a terrible misconception: "Egypt's location facilitates the fastest collection display in the Middle East." While another four or five Mango stores are expected to open in Egypt, competitor brandnames are putting up posters, too. So far, however, Mango has the arena to itself.
