Crafted to channelise the business zeal of aspiring entrepreneurs, Boutique Muscat’s (BM) ‘Take a Leap’ project, does exactly what it promises: propels one to take a leap; a leap towards success with the backing of trained professionals.
“It is a platform to support designs and brand owners become professional retail entrepreneurs. It is a supportive community where you can learn about retail through selling your product from Day 1,” explains Hazar Al Zadjali, co-founder of Boutique Muscat and the Take a Leap project.
This retail entrepreneurship platform, a brainchild of Hazar and her sister Hanadi Al Zadjali, is open for anyone who has a product that fits in with BM’s operations in the areas of fashion, accessories, lifestyle and beauty. All that one needs to do is fill the application form that is available on a link in Boutique Muscat’s Instagram bio (@boutiquemuscat).
The main criterion, as Hazar notes, is that the brand owner is driven to create a strong brand presence and is willing to go that extra mile to succeed in retail. The selected brands are provided with an avenue to showcase their products at BM. With many young Omani demonstrating a passion for entrepreneurship, applicants under the ‘Take a Leap’ platform are assessed on the basis of their creativity and drive to excel and sustainability measures adopted to realise the goals. Quality of the product, price and suitability in relation to BM’s profile are also considered while selecting applicants from the hundreds of requests the team receives. This January alone the team received over 300 applicants, of which 30 were chosen to be a part of the project. According to statistics, only 10 per cent of the start-ups succeed and the objective of ‘Take a Leap’ is to make their applicants a part of that 10 per cent.
As the BM’s profile story states: “We have come a long way since we launched BM in 2008 – through trial and error, and a lot of financial mistakes and risks we reached where we are today. That is why, we would like to share our experience, not only verbally, but through real experience where you get to test the market, learn your customer’s needs, understand the local scene when it comes to local brands and retail, doing it all with no risk at one of the most prominent locations in Muscat.”
Selected candidates are offered coaching and guidance in marketing, branding, pricing strategy and customer service. The objective is to build a brand and leverage it as a promising entity in the market. This will entail marketing the brand at established retail locations in the capital, utilising Boutique Muscat’s channels to do the same, with a priority to showcase them on its e-commerce website.
Since it was launched in 2010, the Take a Leap platform has housed several local and regional designers and entrepreneurs. It has introduced and continues to introduce, a variety of new brands, which are either upcoming local and regional designers or established brands with an international presence. BM has recently opened an outlet at Al Mouj Muscat, becoming the first Omani fashion and lifestyle brand to open in one of Majid Al Futtaim’s projects. It is now also present in Jabal Al Akhdar’s Anantara Hotel, as well as House of Fraser in Abu Dhabi and Ush in Dubai. Work is on to establish an outlet in Salalah.